Point of View of White Slave Owners Towards Slavery

Question 1a: Roots and growth of slavery from 1650 to 1860 

The origin of slavery can be traced back to the development and expansion of European colonies. Historians and scholars who have widely explored the institution of slavery in the United States attribute the emergence of slavery to the colonies European countries were developing. America, a colony of England, for instance, demanded labor for its agricultural activities including cotton, tobacco, as well as sugar plantations ( Rodriguez, 2007) . Although slave trade, bondage, and forced labor practices picked up in the 1650s, elements of slavery existed earlier with the first Africans documented to have arrived in America in 1619 ( Rodriguez, 2007) . Another reason for the rapid growth of slavery in the 1650s was the idea that paid labor was costly and the fact that the diseases and conflicts had wiped out Native Americans and other indigenous people who provided labor ( Rodriguez, 2007) . This forced the colonizers to turn to Africa for cheap labor.

Although agriculture was the leading cause of slavery, a wide range of factors contributed to its growth. For instance, there were legal mechanisms that promoted slavery in the United States. In 1661, Virginia became the first colony to legally establish slavery by enacting a law that allowed any free person to own slaves ( Rodriguez, 2007) . Maryland and Carolinas soon adopted a similar route. Although these laws permitted and promoted slavery, the institution was, however, far less systemized until statutes that regulated the practice in most parts of the United States were enacted. The Fugitive Slave Law Act of 1793 and the Slave Trade Act of 1794 played a significant role in enabling increased importation of slaves, trade, and systematization of the entire institution ( Rodriguez, 2007) . Scholarships show that, to a considerable extent, these laws contributed to a massive rate of growth of slavery in the 18 century. Other factors included thriving plantations in the South and the need to expand trade overseas.

Question 1b: Point of view of white slave owners towards slavery 

Slave owners used a diverse range of reasons to justify slavery, including cotton plantation, the American system, and the market revolution. Whites were committed to making cotton a profitable venture. Once picking cotton from the fields, it was necessary to remove the seeds before disposing of the cotton to the market. The process was to be done by hand, was labor-intensive, and time-consuming process ( Clegg, 2015) . Therefore, it warranted the need for more slaves. Planters, who also happened to be slave owners, did not only use this argument to justify the slave trade and forced labor but also to push for the practice.

Slavery was central to the economy of America at the time. Economically, it is estimated that slavery constituted between 15 to 20 percent of the wealth of the United States ( Blackburn, 2015) . This means that slaves were worth more than factories, stocks, currencies, and bonds combined. In other words, people who owned slaves owned and controlled a substantial amount of wealth. More slaves meant more wealth. Because of the centrality of slavery to the economy, slave owners were increasingly invested in making sure that the institution persisted. Even more interesting, unlike other forms of wealth, slaveholders developed the idea that slavery was heritable through the line of the mother.

The market revolution involved producing goods and services in largescale for sale and as such, promoted slavery. In the 19 th century, the United States shifted from producing goods for individual consumption to produce the same products on large scales to sale to others. The revolution reverberated across the country but more in the South. As textile industries in the North were booming, the demand for southern cotton inflated ( Blackburn, 2015) . As a result, the institution of slavery proliferated. The market revolution meant more labor that helped fulfil the demand for goods in the country and abroad. Slaveholders, especially in the South, therefore, needed slaves and their inputs more than ever for increased production.

Question 1c: Black experience of slavery 

The black experiences of slavery are mostly marked by the doctrine of spheres, code of honor, Gettysburg, and southern value. The doctrine of spheres separated the role of men and women in society. It also applied to slavery, to some extent. In some plantations, although few, women and girls were restricted to domestic or personal responsibilities as males worked in the fields. However, in a majority of homes, due to increased labor demand, female slaves were exposed to similar conditions as their male counterparts. They were forced to work in the plantations while being subjected to whipping, beating, branding, shackling, mutilation, and imprisonment.

The code of honor was a fundamental and yet complex concept in the United States during slavery. In the South, where slavery was rampant, it was regarded as an unwritten law ingrained in the social fabric of Southerners. The honor required men to maintain an image of integrity and honesty, strength and courage, mastery defined patriarchal domination, and willingness to use violence. The code only applied to white people since black men and women were owned. Therefore, it took away the natural right to freedom of slaves and control of their being and destiny. The words of the masters were to be heeded, accepted and obeyed even if they threatened their well-being.

It was terror being black in Gettysburg some period before and during the civil war. According to Kevin Levin (2012) of History News Network, when Robert Lee and his army invaded Gettysburg, they forcefully captured blacks and recruited them in the military to fight in the civil war. Some were even abducted and those who refused to join the battle were killed including free men and women. Although a majority of blacks fled before the invasion, those that remained were subjected to the harsh realities of the battle. Women who would not participate in the battle were forced to cook for the army.

The value of blacks in the South during slavery was reduced to that of commodities. As mentioned earlier, they did not only provide labor but were also an instrument of wealth. In general, the value of black men and women was the same since women were also subjected to physically demanding tasks as men. However, black women’s ability to give birth was deemed an economic advantage for the masters as Angela Davis (2011) suggests. Fertile female slaves meant more value for their owners with old infertile men and women who could not provide either labor or sire children considered a liability.

Question 2: Were black ex-slaves free after the Civil War? 

Even though the objective of the Civil War was to abolish slavery in the United States, ex-slaves were not entirely free despite accomplishing this mission. To some, especially African Americans, freedom meant being freed from whipping, torture, sale of loved ones, and white mastery among others all which were attained ( Edwards, (2015) . However, they were not entitled to the rights of freedom as included in the United States Constitution, such as speech, vote, assembly, petition and more. Moreover, they did not enjoy full rights of citizenship, educational and work opportunities.

The death of millions of African Americans after the American Civil War is proof the ex-slaves were not free. The purpose of the civil war, according to Paul Harris (2012), was only to liberate blacks from slavery. A majority of the freed slaves faced horrific diseases like cholera and smallpox outbreaks, neglected by union soldiers, or even died out of starvation. This is mainly because they were not yet accorded the right to healthcare, food, protection, and the likes. In response to this, the reconstruction of the United States was necessary to incorporate the freedom of former slaves.

The Reconstruction Era is marked by complex and far-reaching political events partly focusing on African Americans. One of the three major issues of the process was to enact progressive legislation that favored the rights of freed slaves ( Edwards, (2015) . It was only after the emancipation that African Americans legally had the freedom to vote, vie for political office, attend public schools, and more.

References

Blackburn, R. (2015). The scope of accumulation and the reach of moral perception: Slavery, market revolution and Atlantic capitalism. In  Emancipation and the remaking of the British imperial world . Manchester University Press. 

Clegg, J. J. (2015). Capitalism and slavery.  Critical Historical Studies ,  2 (2), 281-304. 

Davis, A. Y. (2011).  Women, race, & class . Vintage. 

Edwards, L. F. (2015).  A Legal History of the Civil War and Reconstruction . Cambridge University Press. 

Harris, P. (2012). How the end of slavery led to starvation and death for millions of black Americans. Retrieved 18 December 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/16/slavery-starvation-civil-war 

Rodriguez, J. P. (2007). Slavery in the United States: A social, political, and historical encyclopedia (Vol. 1). Abc-Clio.