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The dispute on slavery was foremost throughout "the land of opportunity", "the land of the free" during the nineteenth century.America stated, in its declaration of independence that "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal…" of course, disregarding coloured men or blacks.They were never meant to be equal, they were inferiornot really what you would call men, right?
The United States of America were one of the last countries of the Western world to abolish slavery.This prolonged condition was established from the affects of many factors alive in the United States at the time.Some factors may have included the development of the country, the economic advantages, the political opinions, and the oppression of slaves.These, in affect, are all very equally responsible for the extension of slavery.This in turn created tensions between the North and South of the country, which ultimately led to the country's only civil war.The differences between these two halves of the nation should be examined to better understand why slavery was such an issue.
Slavery was introduced into American life from the very first British colonies.African-Americans were brought into Jamestown in 161 to create wealth on the tobacco fields.This slavery was established in other colonies, as it was in many parts of the word at the time.After the War of Independence, in 178, the majority of the northern states introduced gradual emancipation of slaves, and by 1804, these states were free.The northern climate was not as suited to rural industries and the heat was not so intolerable making slavery unnecessary.Soon, the North had discovered many industrial advantages and adapted to bulk manufacturing of weapons and other goods.The South, however, continued to venture into tobacco, cotton and other such agricultural crops to build the economy.This was short-lived as by the end of the eighteenth century, slavery in the south too was fading.Competition from the West undermined the demand for crops and tobacco lands were worn from over planting.Many farmers tried to survive by selling slaves that they had.This was turned around yet again, nevertheless, with the invention of the Cotton Gin in 174.This simple box increased production of cotton tenfold, as it no longer took slaves a large amount of time to clean the cotton.Despite a ban of further importation of slaves in 1808, demand was now so high that slave smuggling began into the country.During the 1840s, settlers from around the country rushed into the far South to make their fortune in cotton, including their slaves.While an industrial revolution was taking place in the North, the South was in no position to accept any change - the golden age of the south had begun and slavery was in the centre of it.
As the shift from the developed "upper South" to the increasingly agricultural "lower South" occurred in the mid-nineteenth century, so did the greatest economic development the South would ever make.Cotton was gaining a growing dominance in the profitable Southern economy, as were slaves.This cheap, indeed largely free form of labour was taken advantage of from early morning to late at night on the cotton fields, maximising the production and hence the profit.Cotton production spread rapidly during the 180s from South Carolina and Georgia to Alabama, Mississippi, and on to Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas.Cotton became America's major export, contributing to nearly two thirds of the total exports.This large valued exportation brought nearly $00 million annually into the United States.The exclamation "Cotton is king!" was a common phrase among the southerners.As the settlers rushed into the 'cotton states', the shift in slave populations from the upper South to the lower South was an estimated 410,000 slaves.Slavery, in association with the cotton gin, allowed the agricultural competition of the West to be beaten, dramatically increasing the country's income.With the presence of this large economic advantage towards the country, it's no surprise that the government and politics associated formed a neutral or 'hands off' attitude when addressing the question of slavery.
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As politics was reluctant to get involved in any profound slavey discussions, the answers to slavery were left largely to the balance of power held by the states in Congress.Southerners, by the constitution, were allowed to count three fifths of their slave population for representation in the House of Representatives.Despite this originally causing an uneasy fear of losing power in the North, the northern population and representation soon grew, and the South feared a loss of power.Consequently, any "free state" that entered the union gained more power for the North, and any "slave state" would increase the Southern power.This began an often-bloody race between northerners and southerners to claim any newly formed territories as their own.In an attempt to maintain balance within Congress, politicians put various compromises forward.The first of these was the Missouri Compromise of 180, which allowed Missouri as a slave state due to the slave-holding settlers in the area; however, Maine would be a free state.Also in this negotiation, it was put forward that no further slave states would exist north of 6 degrees, 0 minutes latitude.This appeared to work for some time, until it was suggested that the territory west of Missouri be organised into the states of Kansas and Nebraska.The southerners demanded these be open to slavery despite them being above the line of the Missouri Compromise, creating further tensions between the two halves of the country.The Kansas-Nebraska Act instituted a complete reversal of the Missouri Compromise and allowed the states to become slave or free by popular sovereignty, the vote of the settlers within the state.This reversal of policies and subjection to the wants of the south prolonged the institution of slavery significantly.
Acts such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 also promoted slavery.In this act it was stated that any slave in any state or territory that managed escape could be pursued, held under force, and arrested back to the state or territory from which they came by the owner.Furthermore, it was included that "In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such an alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence."The decision on the "Dred Scott Case" was also very major in showing how far away slavery was to actually ending.This case, in 1857 involved a slave, Dred Scott, who had been taken by his owner to live in a free state and territory.When his owner died during this time, he went before the Supreme Court to sue for his freedom; however, the decision was made that he could not sue in the federal courts, as he was not a citizen of America.The discussion continued to reveal that Congress could not outlaw slavery within any territories as this deprived people of their property, which was unconstitutional under the 5th amendment.This enforced that slavery could still exist anywhere throughout the United States.
Finally, the oppression of the slaves played a significant part in the longevity of slavery.Strict rules were kept and enforced with beatings.Some of the examples of these regulations can be found in the diary of plantation owner, Bennet H. Barrow, in which he states "No Negro shall leave the place at any time without my permission, or in my absence that of the Driver in that case being responsible, for the cause of such absence, which ought never to be omitted to be enquired into.The Driver should never leave the plantation, unless on business of the plantation.No Negro shall be allowed to marry out of the plantation.No Negro shall be allowed to sell anything without my express permission…" and he then goes on to provide reasons for some of these rules.Plantation owners made certain that their slaves had no sense of belonging to anywhere else or any feelings of independence.Another account is given by a former slave describes a day on a plantation "The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, whish is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labour till the middle of the night.They do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return to the quarters, however late it be, until the order to halt is given by the driver."This presents the notion that the slaves had very little time to think and had a large amount of fear instilled in them.Dehumanisation of slaves into things was also a common way of keeping control, as another former slave describes"To kill a Negro they do not deem murder, to debauch a Negro women they do not think fornication; to take the property away from a Negro they do not consider robbery.The people boast when they get freedmen affairs in their own hands, to use their own classic expression, 'the niggers will catch hell.'"Any form of rebellion from slaves was very uncommon under these conditions, and that was the way things were kept.
In conclusion, slavery was prolonged in the Southern states of America due to the establishment of crops, particularly cotton, as major revenue and a reluctance to change or advance this circumstance.Also, a neutral policy created by the government meant that this situation of slavery could continue, sometimes promoting it, and plantation owners treated slaves in such a way as to avoid revolts and maintain fear.These factors all equally played a part in determining the longevity of slavery within the United States.
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