Slavery History Essay

1627 Words4 Pages

Slavery in the United States began to grow in the early 1700’s and died down after the American Revolution. Although in 1794 the cotton gin was invented which lead slavery to be a huge issue. Enslavement of African Americans continued at a growing rate until Abraham Lincoln became president in 1860. In 1861 the Civil War began between the free and the slave states. In 1862 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation for the ten Southern states still in rebellion. Because of the few individuals who still owned slaves it was necessary to put into effect the 13th amendment, the abolishment of slavery. This freed all slaved blacks. The 13th amendment was passed in 1865 right after the civil war ended. This amendment I believe needed to be passed; African Americans are human just like the rest of us: Caucasians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and everyone else. The deserve to be treated equally as well as have equal rights, abolishing slavery was just another step which had to be taken to reach equality.
During the early 1700’s African Americans were taken from their lives and homes to be in the slave trade. At this point in time slavery was more of a great concept thrown around rather than a law. Even though it was not in law yet, white men still participated in slave trade; they would own and buy slaves by an increasing number. Slaves were able to have a relationship with African American women depending on the owner of the slave. Some owners would allow make slaves to marry in a church and get marriage papers. However because it was up to the owner and not all were willing to allow them to marry, reproducing for African Americans slowed the numbers for their race. Sometimes enslaved black men would sign over their rights o...

... middle of paper ...

...esting facts about slavery:
• Slavery began in Africa with Africans enslaving their own people.
• About 12 million Slaves were sent to America during the Atlantic slave trade. Of the 12 million, 1.8 million died during transportation.
• In 1860, 89 percent of the nation's African Americans were slaves. ("Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.)
• Half of all slave babies died in the first year of life--twice the rate for white babies. ("Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.)
• Children entered the labor force as early as 3 or 4.
• During the Civil War, 140,500 slaves were freed. ("Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.)

Open Document