Slavery and the Anti-slavery Movement

Anytime we hear the word “slavery”, we tend to think of the Southern United States during the Pre-Civil War era. What many people don’t know, is that this horrible act has occurred worldwide! The term “slavery” has many different definitions, and has occurred all throughout our world history. It wasn’t until the early 18th century that the thought of anti-slavery came about. Many economic, social, and technological forces have played a part in the decline of slavery around the globe.
The first definition that comes to mind when we hear this term, is the act of being a slave or a person who does not own their own labor. While, yes, this is a definition of slavery; it’s only one of many. For example, our textbook defines slavery as the most extreme form of forced labor (Ember). Another definition would include: the state of one bound in servitude as the property of slaveholder or household (“Definition”). All of these definitions are correct. Slavery is the act of holding/owning another person against their will; a state where one individual has complete control over another’s life, liberty, and fortune. Slavery not only occurred inside the United States, but throughout the entire world.
The act of slavery was widespread around the globe, seen in places like: the Sumerian society; Greece; the central Nigerian Society, Nupe; and of the course, the United States (Ember). Although slavery was common in all of these places, what differed is how the slaves were obtained and maintained. One of the earliest documented history of slavery dates back to 3000 B.C. in the Sumerian society (Ember). Since this society was very complex, slaves were common in Sumer. The slaves were often captives brought back from war. This way of ...

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