The Slave Industry

Slavery ~ A Wretched thing it is! Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on them personally. ~ A. Lincoln Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave. ~ F. Douglass

Can we Ever Gain an Appreciation for h0w horrible this act really was?  Human Beings – Real People – taken from their families, never to be seen again.  Shipped across an ocean for months, chained to the floor of a ship.  Sold at an auction like an animal.  Sent to live and work under horrible conditions for the rest of their lives.  No hope for any type of justice, any type of freedom, or any family. WhY?

There is Hope in the Human Spirit – Not to give up! To know that there a better day is coming ! To persevere, it takes strength, courage and faith…

 Slavery in America found it’s beginnings in Africa.  Shipped across an ocean for months, chained to the floor of a ship.  Slavery began amongst the warring tribes enslaving each other.  The Europeans, out of greed expanded the slave trade industry from Northern Africa, west to the Americas.  Although a majority of the Atlantic Slave trade industry went to South and Central America, a percentage of slaves did end up in North America. How could we ? How did we ?

 It was in the 1500’s and that the first African were brought in by the Spanish. However a revolt followed and these African escaped into the wilderness.  In 1619 a Dutch trading shipped came into Jamestown and brought with them 20 slaves to trade. From that year on, the slave industry steadily grew each year.  As the colonies began to grow and establish themselves in the different regions, slavery also grew.  Warmer weather with fertile lands developed a plantation society in the South (growing Indigo, rice and tobacco). These crops were very labor intensive. The European plantation owners did not want to work and only a few controlled vast amounts of land.  Therefore the slave industry thrived and their economy came to depend on the slave market.

 In contrast, the North was very different from the South. Colder climate, not conducive to farming any plants and very wet. The main industries in this area was lumber (ship building) and fishing. There was no need for slaves.  Still, the slave population in the South grew steadily until the 1700’s as the colonies began to define themselves. In contrast, the North saw a rapid growth of religious groups who abhorred slavery. Slavery and Regionalism  The importation of slaves from Africa was only about 5% in N American compared to C and S America.  When the Constitution was signed the slave industry was being phased out. There was an agreement to end the importation of slaves by  However, in 1793 with new technology such as the invention of the cotton gin, the slave industry was energized.

Life on the Plantation The harsh reality  Plantation owners would purposely never bring in slaves from the same village or kept those, who spoke the same native language.  The slave community developed their own language.  Plantation owners would purposely break up families and sell women and children off and away from their parents.  Through music and spiritual songs, the slave community maintained community and hope.  Plantation owners used other slaves as overseers to keep the people hard at work.  At times the slave community rebelled, leaving the planation community to live in fear.

Slavery was always controversial! We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.– Declaration of Independence

How Far have we come?