Slavery (659 words)

Slavery”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”
(Thomas Jefferson).
Slavery in America stems well back to when the new world was
first discovered and was led by the country to start the African
Slave Trade- Portugal. The African Slave Trade was first
exploited for plantations in that is now called the Caribbean,
and eventually reached the southern coasts of America (Slavery
Two; Milton Meltzer). The African natives were of all ages and
sexes. Women usually worked in the homes, cooking and cleaning,
whereas men were sent out into the plantations to farm. Young
girls would usually help in the house also and young boys would
help in the farm by bailing hay and loading wagons with crops.
Since trying to capture the native Indians, the Arawaks and
Caribs, failed (Small-Pox had killed them), the Europeans said
out to capture African slaves. They were shipped from Africa by
the Europeans in what was called The Triangular Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade. This was an organized route where Europeans would
travel to Africa bringing manufactured goods, capture Africans
and take them to the Caribbean, and then take the crops and goods
and bring them back to Europe. The African people, in order to
communicate invented a language that was a mixture of all the
African languages combined, called Creole. This language now
varies from island to island. They also kept their culture which
accounts for calypso music and the instruments used in these
songs.
Slavery was common all over the world until 1794 when France
signed the Act of the National Convention abolishing slavery. It
would take America about a hundred years to do the same (Slavery
Two; Milton Meltzer).
George Washington was America’s hero. He was America’s first
president. He was a slave owner. He deplored slavery but did
not release his slaves. His will stated that they would be
released after the death of his wife (The Volume Library; 1988).
Washington wasn’t the only president to have slaves. Thomas
Jefferson wrote, “All men are created equal” but died leaving his
blacks in slavery.
In 1775 black Americans were sent to fight in the revolutionary
army. The British proposed that if a black man was to join their
army, they would be set free afterwards. America originally
planned not to let the blacks fight in the army, but when hearing
this, let them enlist. Only Georgia and South Carolina refused to
let them enlist, but paid for their racism when each lost 25,000
blacks to the British. The slaves returned on an honourable
discharge after securing America’s freedom, but not their own
(Software Toolworks Encyclopedia; 1992).
Slavery continued and so did the numbers of slaves trying to
escape to the free states or into Canada. A runaway slave would
be found by bloodhounds, trained to find black slaves. Then the
slave, upon returning, would be executed or severely whipped.
The “Underground Railroad” was a project that helped black
slaves escape into Canada, especially Amherstburg. The system
involved 3,000 white helpers and freed an estimated 75,000
people after the civil war.
Slavery in the middle of the 1800’s was abolished except for the
rebellion states in the south. In 1863, the Emancipation
Proclamation was issued which made slavery illegal in the states
that had rebelled and allowed black slaves to serve in the army
and get other jobs, or continue to work on the plantations, as
employees making money.
The nightmare of slavery was over but a new one was to begin.
One that was worse for it was prevalent but was secret and
silent. One that exists today. One that does not shrink but
rather grows. Racism was and is upon us.