... Democracy in America is a book that was published in two volumes by the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville. The book is a summarization of Tocqueville’s tour of America in the early 1830’s. He observed the process of democracy in America, race relations, and the notion of equality, which was not bound by class as it was in aristocratic Europe. The chapter of Democracy in America that will be analyzed in this paper is titled, “Situation of the Black Race in the United States, Dangers Entailed for the Whites by Its Presence”. Slavery and American racial mores circa 1830 will be addressed as we continue. At this time, the presence of blacks is the greatest dangers threatening America. African slaves were imported to many colonies and nations other than those in North America, but none of these other slave-importing countries achieved anywhere near the economic growth seen in the United States. Bacon's Rebellion was an event that redefined the notion of race in the United States. Africans were in America long before Bacon’s Rebellion. The Great Migration was a period that the colonies were in desperate need of laborers. Blacks, along with whites, worked as indentured servants. There were black indentured servants that owned land, some even owning slaves themselves. After Bacon’s Rebellion, there was a gradual change in the status of African Americans from indentured servants to slaves. Post Bacon’s Rebellion, there was a great demand for labor and that demand...
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...Indentured Servitude to Slavery in Early America Slavery and indentured servitude were similar in many ways, but also had many differences. In slavery, a person was forced to work their whole life. Indentured servitude was when a person or family worked for another, as a slave would, but for only a certain amount of years. After that, they were promised a plot of their own land. Both had harsh conditions on the way over to the New World as well as when they arrived. Indentured servants were young European men and women and even families who signed a contract that they agree to work for a certain amount of years in return for transportation, food, clothing, water, and shelter. The adults typically worked for four to seven years but the children worked for many more years, usually in plantations. If a woman got pregnant while she was an indentured servant, she and her child would also have to work for many more years to make up for lost time. Indentured servants could be sold like slaves. The Virginia Company of London paid to transport servants across the Atlantic, but the established law of the headright system in 1618 gave settlers who paid their own way 50 acres of land once their contract of labor was up. As a result, the...
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...The phenomenon of slavery in America eventually evolved to such an extreme extent that the institution and its aftermath created many years of discrimination and the dramatic split of social classes. Although America thrived economically due to slave labor when it was established, without the Abolitionist Movement, it is unlikely that individuals in our society would have the equal rights and freedoms that they enjoy today. From the 1600’s to the 1800’s, the original intention of slavery was to build economic prosperity for the new nation; however, the abuse that slaves endured eventually transformed slavery into America's greatest nightmare. Previously, in 1619, in America, slavery first began when 20 African slaves were put aboard a Dutch...
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...European slave traders who then transported them to North and South America. The numbers were so great that Africans who came by way of the slave trade became the most numerous Old World immigrants in both North and South America before the late eighteenth century. The South Atlantic economic system centered on making goods and clothing to sell in Europe and increasing the numbers of African slaves brought to the New World. This was crucial to those European countries which, in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, were vying with each other to create overseas empires. The evolution of slavery is crucial to understanding the importance of currently standing issues. Slavery began in 1440 when Portugal started to trade slaves with West Africa. The first Africans imported to the English colonies were also called “indentured servants” or “apprentices for life”. By the middle of the sixteenth century, they and their offspring were legally the property of their owners. As property, they were merchandise or units of labor, and were sold at markets with other goods and services. By the 17th century, Western Europeans developed an organized system of trading slaves. However, the slave trade did not run as smoothly as expected. Slaves were revolting and tried to flee the hardships of labor. Regardless of these attempts slavery expanded, leading to the "Triangle Trade." This trade, between Europe, Africa and the Americas, is held responsible for the dispersal of Africans in...
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...the Civil War, the issue of slavery. Slavery had many aspects to it that made it questionable. The regions did not agree on the fact that one side didn't have to pay their workers but on top of not paying them, they treated them with little worth. Another side believed in an equal and ethical way of treating their workers and paying them. What divided the United States was both the morality and the economics of slavery. This essay will describe the differences in the northern and southern economies, and their beliefs about the sale and ownership of human beings. It was these differences that led to the South seceding from the United States and to war with the North. Slavery was first...
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...Justin Knox 11/22/08 A Block: Slavery Slaves As a Commodity The Transatlantic Slave Trade opened a global marketing system when Portugal had an importing business. The “product” of this industry was slaves from West Africa. This business did extremely well since North America, also known as the “New World”, had an unreliable work force. Before Africans were used, Europeans relied on indentured servants. They would have a sentence of about four years work with no pay after that time they had to be freed and paid to work. Other people were used as slaves such as Native Americans and Caucasians but they were killed by diseases that foreigners carried which their immune system could not handle. A lot of people feel that slavery does not exist anymore, but if slavery is making people work for little to no money and taking away some of their rights then sweat shops is slavery. In this paper, I will show how profitable the Transatlantic Slave Trade was. I will prove this first by acknowledging how many places were involved with the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Second, I will explain how other trades affected slavery. Third, I will show how we still use sweatshops as a form of slavery today. The Transatlantic Slave Trade supplied the main base of the New World’s economy. The majority ships that sailed yearly for Africa were from the city of Newport. A little over sixty percent of North American voyages that involved the Transatlantic Slave Trade were founded in Rhode...
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...In the mid 1860s, a social reform was occurring; the 13th amendment was placed into work, and model contacts were also being implemented. These reforms affected everyone in their daily lives and largely impacted the economy, government, and agricultural industry. Slavery was the main source of labor for most business owners in the south during and after colonization of North America, due to the triangular slave trade system. Slavery was an easy solution to the lack of workers in the agriculture industry and an extremely cheap source of labor. However, this source was widely controversial and also entirely regional in the North American colonies. With these social reforms came many new labor laws and rules. Martin R. Delaney’s model contract...
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...“except as a punishment for crime.” Basically that says you can punish or criminal with slavery, and that exists in the US and we do it all over the country all the time. It is called prison labor. We are kind of familiar with the idea. Prisoners making license plates is the classic example. But that is the tip of the iceberg. Across the country convicts do work in carpentry, swing, mining, packaging, fire fighting, telemarketing, fish farming, and artisanal cheese-making. The last example is why this is back in the news. Whole food took some flak for selling felon made cheese and at pretty hefty markup. According to the Civil Liberties Union, this...
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...October 9, 2014 HIS 2111, Instructor Wells Short Paper Assignment Slavery in British America This paper is about slavery in British America over time. I am going to talk about how slavery evolved, differences across regions and across all colonies, and factors that contributed to hardening of the line between slavery and freedom. Slavery was used by all great powers at that time (England, France, Spain, Netherland, Portugal…). In this big region of both Americas and West Indies, slavery was something as common as freedom is common today. Basically from Canada to Brazil there was some kind of slavery. Most of the slaves were imported from Africa especially in British mainland colonies, but there were a lot of Indian slaves as well in West Indies. Slavery was different between the regions in New World. For example slavery in Barbados was different as in New England, in Barbados there was plantation based slavery but in New England there were only few slaves that helped their masters with some minor work at their houses. Even between British mainland colonies there was difference in slave societies. First British mainland colonies did not heavily relay on slaves, because they had a big migration from Europe. People came from all over Europe, most of them came as indentured servants. For free passage over Atlantic they gave their rights to people that paid for their voyage. They obligated that they will work for free, some amount of time, for free trip and free land after...
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...Slavery was abolished in America 150 years ago, however, the color line it created is still very much alive. From the overtly racist Jim Crow laws to the discriminatory covert practices within the housing industry of today, there is a clear division of white versus black, superior versus inferior, that divides the nation. In her article “The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates makes the case for why African Americans should be paid back for all of the injustices they had to, and continue to, endure. Granting reparations would be more than just handing out money to blacks to make up for the astronomical wealth gap certain discriminatory actions and policies have created, though. Coates said that making “reparations to those on whose labor...
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... Many colonists came to America because of a desire to prosper and to start a new life. The majority of the settlers were males under the age of twenty. They didn’t realize how harsh it was going to be in the South. I am sure they did not expect to die like so many of them did. The life that they hoped for was not the life that they received. The Southern colonies were an ideal place for agriculture. The long, warm, and moist climate was perfect for growing cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice, and indigo. Its rivers were useful for transportation. The hot weather made life in the south harsh and a death expectancy that was shorter than New England’s. There were four classes of settlers; they were the plantation owners, the middle class farmers, the indentured servants, and the slaves. Almost half of the settlers were indentured servants or slaves. How life was in the Southern colonies depended upon which class of people you came from. In a plantation, the wealthy planters’ children were educated at home by teachers that their parents hired; they had easy lives. They learned reading, writing, dancing, and music. Boys learned to ride horses and hunt, and spent lots of time outdoors. The older boys were taught how to run the plantation. The indentured servants were people who came to the colonies on contract. Their hopes were to come to America for a better opportunity of a good life. They would have their fare across the Atlantic paid in full by their master and be...
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...opinion that reconstruction is similar to slavery. The so-called freedom given to African Americans was very limited and overshadowed by the consistent mistreatment they faced. Reconstruction simply opened the doors to other forms of slavery. At this time, the South States were suffering because many believed they...
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...role of female writers in abolishing slavery?” Women were not able to vote and little influence on the political scene; regardless of this, they played an important role in the abolition of the Slave Trade and slavery in the British colonies. In the early years, women were not direct activists and were not expected to take part in politics. Lady Margaret Middleton helped persuade William Wilberforce to take up the cause but could not become actively engaged herself. However women found their own ways to campaign. They wrote imaginative literature on slavery, such as Hannah More's publications. In 1792 Mary Birkett Card wrote 'A Poem on the African Slave Trade' and, as the campaign became more popular, many women, from all walks of life, (including Georgina, the Duchess of Devonshire and Bristol milk-woman Ann Yearsley) published anti-slavery poems and stories. These were aimed at a wide readership. Former slaves such as Phyllis Wheatley wrote their own poems and accounts that were extremely influential. (quoted in “The Abolition Project”) However as the main food purchasers, women played an important role in organizing the sugar boycotts of the 1790s, after the bill for the abolition of the Slave Trade was defeated in Parliament in 1791. Over 300,000 people joined a boycott of sugar which had been grown on plantations that used the labor of enslaved people. The Abolition Act, passed in 1807, abolished the Slave Trade but not chattel slavery. A child born to an enslaved person...
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...The history of slavery in America dates back to the seventeenth century when slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619. The era of slavery in US can be broadly divided into three sections, The Antebellum, Slavery during the Civil War, The Reconstruction We will be focusing our attention on the lives of slaves during the Civil War - a war many believe was fought for their emancipation. But before we get an insight into this subject, it is important to know in brief the events that led to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was elected the President of United States in 1860, and this propelled anxiety and fear in the minds of the southern states who believed that the government will pass laws that will dampen their economy and the 'southern way of life.' This was primarily because of the reason that northerners hadn't too much at stake in the institution of slavery. Their economy chiefly depended on industries and factories. South, on the other hand, depended on slaves heavily for their work. The plantations of indigo, tobacco, rice, and cotton (after the invention of cotton gin) required hard labor and the slaves were made to work for long hours so that profit was maximized. Many people believe that the Civil War was about North's struggle to emancipate the slaves and South's fight to continue the slave trade. However, it should be remembered that the North did not go to war to emancipate the slaves, instead Abraham Lincoln, before becoming the President...
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...age” credited to mark twain The great leap forward- the prosperous economic times @ end of gilded age. The great leap forward was mainly concentrated in the north. The main cause of the GLF was the industrialization Throughout the gilded age the north accounted for 80precent of the industrial advancements. Until the 1800’s the only 2 components of the American economy was agriculture and overseas commerce. Then during the war of 1812 that began to change. The north started to do more manufacturing. 3 industries at the core of GLF steel industry railroad industry coal industry steel industry- over 400 steel companies. But only produced 200,000 tons of steel In 1900 – fewer than 80 steel companies But they produce 10million tons of steel Railroad industry – customers of steel coal and timber industry Government realized that railroad was so important So they gave it a lot of land. Coal Industry – Saudi Arabia of coal More here than anyone in the world. The Working People of The Gilded Age. Category A workers – white collar people. Had higher status Doctors Lawyers Ministers Journalists Needed higher education. **category A&B =Middle Class Category B workers – Skilled workers Worked with hands Did not dress nicely to work Got paid very well due to their skills Sometimes more than category A’s Carpenters Plumbers Category C workers- Not very skilled Got very dirty Dangerous jobs Taken...
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