Antebellum Slavery: Unmoral, Undignified, and Entrenched

Slavery in 19th century America was a crucial part in the economic prosperity of the nation. In 1792, Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin, a machine that removed seeds from raw cotton. This made cotton production much easier, and therefore caused cotton production to boom. This caused more slaves to be demanded, and caused the cost of slaves to go up. Slavery, something that had seemed to be dying out had been given a second, and growing life thanks to the cotton gin. Just two years after the invention, the cost of slaves had doubled, and the number of slaves was increasing rapidly. 

In 1860, the United States was extremely reliant on the economic effects of cotton. In the 70 years before, the production of cotton had exponentially increased, from producing 1.5 million pounds in 1790 to 2.28 billion pounds in 1860. It produced 196.8 million dollars and represented 57% of the nations total export revenue. With the increase in cotton, there was an increase in slavery as well. In 1790 the slave population was about 690,000 and by 1860 it had boomed to 3,945,000. Although slaves were only present in the south, they benefitted the northern economy as well. Industrialization was a big aspect of the northern states, and therefore they needed to be supplied with cotton. Even though they themselves did not have slaves, the took the souths slave labored cotton to help them with their economy.

This photo shows the spread of cotton and slavery in1800. The spread of cotton was just beginning, so it hadn't had a very large effect on slavery, although it did spread slavery quite a lot. 

This picture shows the spread of cotton and slavery in 1860. Cotton had spread a lot throughout the south, and the spread of slavery grew even faster, the south being covered in slavery throughout all the states.

Slavery in the U.S differed from slavery in other cultures because it was based on racial distinctions. In Futa Jallon, slaves were often prisoners of war, and if a person was muslim they could not be a slave. The children of a free man and a slave were free, and slaves could own property and use the gardens for themselves in addition for their owner, whom they had little contact with. In the U.S, slaves did not have full control over their lives and even though they made up a large percentage of the population, they were owned by only a few wealthy plantation owners. Slavery was defined by race, an entire race of people being subjected to a less than human definition, losing all dignity they may have formerly had. A system based on race tends to ignore many of the basic characteristics we as people tend to follow when treating others. Empathy was something all slave owners failed to understand, because if they understood how slaves felt they would never subject them to those treatments.

In class we looked at three different men who spoke out on their opinions on slavery. The first man we looked at was George Fitzhugh, a Virginia judge who was clear about his love of slavery. He believed that blacks were inferior to whites, and believed that slavery was a better option for them than being free. He explained this by saying that a free laborer works longer and harder than a slave, and gets lets benefits (a place to live, food to eat) He thought that slaves were more free than the free laborer was. His illogical beliefs made him so well known hat he went to the north to share his beliefs, and the northerners were horrified by his complete support of slavery. The next man that we looked at was Fredrick Douglas, a former slave and civil rights activist. On independence day, he gave a speech bashing the celebratory day, because it celebrated freedom and liberty that slaves could never have. The last man we looked at was John Brown, who was extreme in his actions against slavery. He believed that to end slavery violence was necessary, and he murdered many slave owners. Although people supported his cause of ending slavery, few supported the harsh and violent way that he went about it, and he was viewed as a mad man. His horrifying actions divided the north and south even further. These men may show extreme examples and may not represent the majority, but at their core they represent the beliefs of their people. George Fitzhugh, southerners and slave owners, Fredrick Douglas, freed northern slaves, and John Brown, abolitionists who wanted to do whatever they could to end slavery.



Sources:

Maps: http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/US/US18-03.html

Fredrick Douglas' Speech: Frederick Douglass, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro", a speech delivered in Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852