America gaining independence meant that all people were free. Slavery was abolished during the American Revolution. However, the southern people did not want to release the slaves as they were the main source of labor. The north embraced the freedom of everyone, including the former slaves. In 1890s, the Southerners felt that slavery was not an evil practice as it was a benefit for both the master and the slave. The Southerner considered slavery as a social system where the slaves had unique benefits of being placed under the care of a superior race and were given to work so that the superior culture would grow. As the slaves began to rebel against slavery, they joined the northern former slaves and other institutions which were against slavery in preparation of war to set all slaves free. Slavery can thus be termed as the main cause of the Civil War.
The slaves in the south were tired of over-exploitation, mistreatment, and abuse. Women who were working as help in the houses were faced with sexual exploitation yet they could not do anything. Children were expected to start working as soon as they were old enough to get used. The women who were pregnant were expected to work to till they gave birth and after that, very little time was allowed for healing. When working, the slaves had a compulsory overseer who was expected to beat up the slaves if they worked slowly. The worst time was during sugar harvesting season where the laborers had to work throughout the week for about 18 hours per day. The harsh conditions led to the death of large numbers of slaves, and they became tired of the way they were treated yet slavery had been abolished.
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During the independence war, large numbers of slaves had been included, and they had war knowledge. They thus had gained experience on war, and they were ready to fight again so that they could be freed from their masters. There were abolitionists who were motivating the southern slaves to rebel. The slaves in the south started defying their masters and joining groups to demonstrate against slavery. However, they were faced with resistance as the white masters killed most of the rebelling slaves. That did not discourage the slaves as more and more joined the strikes and even started attacking their masters. The southern slaves also started rebelling due to the restrictions they were facing such as lack of payment despite the hard labor. The slaves demanded to be paid for the work they were doing, and since the southern were not willing to compensate them, it made the southern slaves join the northern freed slaves for civil war.
The slave revolts happened in multiple places at the same time, and that made the Southern states declare war against the slaves. The northern states were already prepared for the war, leading to attacks in different places. The states which supported the abolishment of slavery recruited the freed slaves so that they could fight in the Union Army to release other slaves. Therefore, the Union had large numbers of men, who were motivated to free the held slaves as they recognized how slavery was deadly. As the war ended, the Union Army won against the Confederate, and all held slaves were set free. Slavery was completely ended after the Civil War, and the black Americans became legally recognized as American citizens. The acceptance of the freed slaves into the American society, however, did not come easily.
