Cotton Gin Essay

Dred Scott was suing his owner, John Sandford for his and his family’s freedom.Scott felt that he should be free because he was brought to the territory where having slaves were illegal. While a slave, Dred Scott fell in love with a slave of another army doctor known as Harriet Robinson and because they were wedded her ownership was transferred over to Emerson. (http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-94772400) The court of Justice decided that Scott and his family could not be free because they were slaves and African-American. Dred Scott, according to Court of Justice had no right to sue for freedom. Although, Benjamin Curtis and John Mclean attempted to help him by arguing that Blacks can be eligible for United States Citizenship, the court room would not have it.

For the Confederacy, many slaves were lost on plantations once they were freed. This made it especially difficult for those men who entered the military and left their plantations in the hands of their families and slaves. As Lincoln had stated in the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), the government was to “recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons” freed by the decree meaning that all freed African Americans were to be recognized as American citizens since they were not recognized as such before. While recently free African Americans were able to remain in the South, many migrated to the North to begin a new life. As many left plantations in the South, both the Confederate army and the Union army gained numerous amounts of freed African Americans on the battle field.

Most of this was in the south because it had the weather conditions needed for cotton to grow. In 1793 Whitney saw the difficulty of taking out cotton seeds by hand (Cefrey 10-11). He decided to create a machine that could clean cotton faster than a human could. The Cotton Gin made the processing of cotton much faster and quicker. As a result of this, land owners were now able to have large cotton plantations across the south (How the Cotton Gin).

This was a movement made in order to end slavery around the world including in a nation that had a common saying, “all men are created equal.” The Abolition movement influenced many individuals to take a stand and change people’s way of thinking, in order to create change in society. Slavery first started in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 with slaves that were called the “20 and Odd” who were sold for goods. In addition to this, in 1636 a slave ship named Desire began the slave trade between Britain American colonies and Africa. Many colonist were unsure and uneasy with the idea of slavery and by the late 1700’s some states such as Delaware and Virginia did not allow the importation of slavery. In fact, Vermont was the first state to eradicate slavery.

Dred Scott, an African American man who was born into slavery, wanted what all slaves would have wanted, their freedom. They were mistreated, neglected, and treated not as humans, but as property. In 1852, Dred Scott sued his current owner, Sanford, about him, no longer being a slave, but a free man (Oyez 1). In Article four of the Constitution, it states that any slave, who set foot in a free land, makes them a free man. This controversy led to the ruling of the state courts and in the end, came to the final word of the Supreme Court.

He didn’t believe anywhere in the United States is free because there is always the chance that a black man can be taken back into slavery because of the Fugitive Slave Laws. He believed that if a slave had the power to read or write, they had the power to free themselves. Frederick Douglass became the leading black abolitionist and one the most famous speakers of his time. His words about his treatment as a slave were a powerful weapon against slavery. People were starting to question whether he was a slave or not, which motivated him to publish his first autobiography.

Since they had joined the abolitionist movement. Frederik Douglass searched for his freedom and escaped his slave masters corrupt plantation when he was 20 years old. Although he successfully escaped to the north, he faced challenges by debating on who to trust, finding a place to stay and escaping from slaveholders. Although, he meets abolitionist and shares his story about his experience as a slave in the south. It created an awakening for slaves since he was one of the first slaves that wrote a biography of his life even though slaves were expected to be uneducated.

This act was supported by Southerners which lead to the North becoming more worried about ending slavery. In 1857 salves legal status was debated in Dred Scott verses Sandford, when a free slave argued for his freedom. His argument was that he had lived where slavery was prohibited by the Missouri Compromise. Scott lost the case because Congress had no power to control slavery there.

Slaves in the southern states flee to the North just to try and have the same opportunities as whites. This is because, in 1803, the state of New Jersey enacts a law that provides for gradual abolition of slavery. All states north of the Mason-Dixon Line bestow the abolition of slavery within their territories. This form of apartheid does not settle well the slaves at the time of lots of mistreatment and poverty stricken families were struggling to get by through life. The government did not help but only added on to the slave issue at hand.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a book about the slave running away from the South. This book was spread to everyone and made the people in the North to have distrust in South. In addition, the Dred Scott’s Decision cause more distrust in the South, since the conclusion from the court was thought to be not right. Dred Scott case was a law court at the federal level, whether Dred Scott will be a slave, or free. The ultimate conclusion from the judge was that Dred Scott will be a slave, and shall be returned to his master.