Slavery In The Twentieth Century

In the 1700’s and 1800’s, the planter elite class of the American South conspired with both federal and state governments and other whites to institutionalize slavery in order to protect their economic and social power and way of life. Their efforts were generally wide spread, simple, blatant and generally very effective.

The above collage is composed of images that represent different things that people used to justify slavery in the United States in the 1800’s. The image in the top left depicts a presumably African American man with a very cheesy smile. Slaveowners sometimes said the the slaves were happy and enjoyed being in slavery. They would argue that outside of slavery African American’s might not be able to earn a consistent living. The happy man shows that they thought slaves were delighted with slavery when, in fact, they were not.

When W.E.B. DuBois wrote that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” in 1903, it undoubtedly fit his cause of promoting equality for African Americans (DuBois 221). However, even for those outside of the conflict between African Americans and racist whites, the effects of the color line were still very much felt. Through their works, Henry Gannett, Arnold Genthe, and Randolph Bourne all address the “line” that existed in 20th century America, and though they do not all directly nor purposefully attest to the accuracy of DuBois’ claim that the line is a problem, the context, the subject matter, and the ideas presented by each author point to the sins of the color line and the ignorance within 20th century America

How did slaves in the nineteenth century American South deal with enslavement? White people from the South might say that the slaves are happy to serve their masters since they take care of them, but history books like Give Me Liberty! By Eric Foner, and first person experience books like Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, and documents like The Confessions of Nat Turner, 1831 in Michael P. Johnsons’ book, this was not the case for most of the time. Slaveholders gave slave’s so privileges, but by no means does this mean that this “good treatment” out weight the awful treatment. Which is why slaves found different ways, some more severe than others, to rebelled against slavery.

During the 19th century slavery was a very prominent and controversial issue between the north and the southern states. In the South, most people believed that slavery was a profitable way of life and if the slavery was to be abolished it would then affect their economy. On the hand the northern had different opinions about slavery and intended to stop it. The fact that the perception were different between the two led to a very difficult situation in resolving the issue.

W.E.B DuBois’ concept of the “color line” refers to the role of racism and race in history and society. DuBois engages the question of race, racial domination, and racial exploitation with the well-known assumption that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line.” (DuBois 15). One would think that the effect of racism is the color line. However, DuBois establishes many problems the color line has caused. Mainly, that the treatment of African Americans resulted in injustices and war.

Slavery was abolished over a century ago and our country faced a civil rights movement that changed the future of America forever. However, even though these milestones left footprints changing the perception of Americans, racism hasn’t ended whatsoever. If you look at America in a broad scale, people from all religious affiliations, racial backgrounds, and sexual orientation intermingling and living their life no longer rocked by the giant earthquakes of racism like in the 1900s. Yet, if you take away this mask and see the dirty truth, you can see that America is still being rocked by these earthquakes, only at small scales. US News published an article titled “Racist Messages at Air Force Academy Prep School Dorm Written by Target Black Student.”

It is sad but today people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slavery plus it's happening not only in third world countries, but also in the United States. In the U.S Constitution the 13th Amendment states,“‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”’ (A+E Networks,2015), which means the 13th amendment made slavery and involuntary servitude illegal everywhere in the United States. Human Trafficking can be limited by parental awareness to educate their own children to be safe. Human Trafficking also be limited by the government having stricter country and international

In the first half of the 19th century the Untied States quickly expanded westward, but as the country grew the expansion of slavery became a hotly contended issue. Those states that already allowed slavery, mostly the South, wanted to expand the institution into newly established territories and states, while non-slave states in the North wanted to curtail it. In response, a series of compromises were reached in Congress where each new non-slave state admitted to the Union was balanced by a new slave state. This balance maintained the peace between pro-slavery and non-slave states for most of the first half of the 1800's. But as both sides continued to compromise over the issue of slavery, radical splinter groups began to emerge on both sides which sought to disrupt the compromises.

Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats attempted to cure their complete opposition on the regulation of slavery by using federal power to coerce an end to the feud, yet the movement increased tension between the divided nation. By invoking both legislative and judicial power, politicians used laws which included slave codes and freedom laws as well as court decisions like Dred Scott v Sandford (1875) to convince or force the population into acceptance of stances on slavery. Each party viewed their tactics and ideas to be righteous, and though they intended for positive results, national outrage answered the governmental movement.

Thomas Jefferson expressed a variety of ideas on slavery in America in his book Notes on the State of Virginia. One of the ideas that stood out to me was the intellectual and artistic ability of the black slave being put into question if the slave can learn like a white man. Jefferson compares the condition of the Native Americans who were never essentially enslaved, to the slave who also never taught how to be skilled in certain crafts. Jefferson analyzes what it means to be “robbed “of what it means to be educated in a world where whites reigned superior to the black person. Overall, Jefferson acknowledges the differences but does not purpose any kind of effective solution.

From the inception of the Colonies, the United States’ economy has depended heavily on cash crops grown in the South. In order to attain the most desirable output level, landowners needed huge slave populations to pick crops and keep achieving a profit. In a capitalist economy such as ours, everything comes down to profit. Profit drove owners to constantly strive to produce the most output for the cheapest expense. A wise businessman would have been stupid to overlook any opportunity for cost cutting, and slave labor was a huge subtraction from labor expense. Businessmen built the institution of slavery in the Americas with profit being the main goal every step of the way; from negotiations with African slavers, to keeping track of and

The history of slavery in the United States is a complex one full of many riveting characters and interesting events. Historians have spent extensive time researching slavery and its effects on the country from its institution until its end in 1865. One popular organization was the American Colonization Society. The society was founded in 1817 and had branches in all major areas of the United States from 1822 to 1913. The society found supporters in many different individuals. One of these characters is a Louisiana slave owner named John McDonogh. Contrary to the norms of the time, John McDonogh formulated a plan to free a select number of his slaves that would then be sent to colonize Liberia. I propose to look at the impact John McDonogh has on the Liberian colonization movement in Louisiana, the contributions he made to slavery as an institution in his local area, and the lasting legacy that he has established in the New Orleans area. .

Ranging from a necessary evil to a positive good, the perception of slavery proved to be a polarizing issue. Many northern citizens were indifferent to the idea of slavery, while southern plantation owners relied on slavery to support their economies. After the Second Great Awakening, the abolition movement was introduced and opposition to slavery began to receive attention. Due to political ideals, acquisition of new American territories, and religious influences, opposition to slavery grew rapidly in the United States from 1776 to 1852.

America imports almost 90 percent of its seafood, so it's not a surprise that some of that comes from Thailand, the world's third biggest exporter of seafood. What might surprise you is that modern day slaves scattered about the small Indonesian islands caught a large portion of that seafood. From pet food manufacturers, to restaurants, and supermarkets, many unsuspecting Americans and their pets are helping finance slavery and human trafficking.