The theory of social conflict explains social inequality that exists in any society. People struggle for limited resources such as power and wealth, which create competition and inequality consequently generating social conflict (Bystrova & Gottschalk, 2015). Conflict occurs when two or more differ in a social interaction thus creating a barrier to other interested parties from attaining their motives. The theory views the society a as zone of social inequality where unsatisfied parties demand social change.
The social conflict theory catalyzed the abolitionist movement during the colonial period in America. Cameron (2017) asserts that immigrants were mistreated and enslaved by colonial settlers to enable them amass wealth by profiting from cheap labor. The slaves worked in farms where they were used as tools for transport. The slaves were beaten and punished for any form of protest they would make. Classes of people emerged as colonialists and became wealthy while African-Americans and Native Americans remained poor. As a result, race riots, communal upheavals, religious persecution, and labor-management conflict emerged in what is known as social conflict.
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Struggle for existence and survival for the fittest became a norm. The anti-slavery protest could not take long to emerge since majority of people were overwhelmed by social stratification that existed in American society. Their voices needed to be heard, and the only solution was to fight back against cruel injustice extended to poor immigrants. War, violence, and revolutions were fueled by discrimination and hatred, which explained a natural disparity in the society that had to be addressed. The wealthy colonialists competed for more wealth to attain incompatible goals and barred other willing parties from achieving them (Carter, 2015). Social conflict was maintained by power instead of mutual agreement. This created an impediment towards having an avenue that would allow equal share of limited resources while respecting rights and freedom of others.
The American society was in an endless conflict due to competition for available resources. Few protagonists had a strong belief that they would rule and conquer the less privileged in the society. Americans were annoyed by acquisition of land by British settlers who were focused on spreading their sphere of influence and culture (Hogg, 2016). Misunderstanding, frustration, stress, and burnout of enslaved African Americans prompted them to disobey their masters leading to riots and social conflict in the name of anti-slavery and abolitionist movement.
Social conflict theory was a ‘step-gear’ that triggered formation of abolitionist movement. The society was structured in ways that would benefit colonial settlers through exploitation of poor immigrants. The white race dominated against the minority group. They benefited themselves at the expense of minorities who were used as tools of work. The religious class, civil activists group, and African-Americans all joined hands to stage anti-slavery protests to oust slavery in America (Julius, 2015). Discrimination, racism, and forced labor were the main social ills that led to formation of the abolitionist movement.
Social conflict is a struggle between groups in a society over limited resources. American society was an industrial and capitalist society (Carter, 2015). The colonists driven by a profit motive took slave trade as any other business of selling commodities. Africans immigrants were traded after being imported from Africa. They had no freedom and were subjected to hard labor with no pay. Their slave masters made huge profits from the slave trade and farm produce. The slaves were captured, tortured, denied food, and could not rest after a challenging work. The enslaved were fed up with the cruel injustices and decided to protest for their rights, leading to formation of the abolition movement.
Social conflict was brought by continued social stratification, discrimination, and conflict of interest. Slaves were treated as lesser human beings. Still, class conflict also emerged where some slave traders became wealthy by exploiting the poor majority (Bystrova & Gottschalk, 2015). The society was composed of different groups that competed for available resources such as land, cheap labor means of production, among others. Power struggle continued among the different races who felt that they were better and more powerful than other races. Certain races controlled specific resources and means of production, while others had no absolute control. Competition and social conflict increased tension and hostility among different classes of people. The poor immigrants were the most affected thus began rioting for equal resource distribution and respect for their rights.
Social conflict resulted from social and economic forces operating in American society. The justice system favored the rich and the more powerful. The poor immigrants were punished severely for minor crimes compared to their fellow whites. The mishandling marked the beginning of a social revolution. Slaves started to disobey their masters; damaged property, escaped from their farms, and even killed their masters (Cameron, 2017). All they wanted was freedom from the slavery bondage. There was massive property damage, which coerced the colonists to give in to the slaves’ demands.
The anti-slavery movement finally succeeded in granting freedom to African-Americans after a long struggle for freedom. Several petitions were submitted to congress to ban slavery in America, but slave states protested against the move. The collective effort by civil society groups and religious class made it possible to ban slavery in America. The abolition movement induced formation of the liberal party and other anti-slavery movements as a quest for freedom, equality, and justice to all Americans, whether black or white. Hogg (2016) explains that there was formation of American colonization society that enabled African immigrants to go back to their present-day Liberia and Sierra Leone. Missouri Compromise of 1820 that banned slavery west of Missouri was also formed. There was publication of antislavery newspapers that condemned the vice and spread the message to other continents in the world.
The widely known failure of the abolition movement was the creation of American civil war that sparked tension between Slaves States and Free States. According to Julius (2015), the abolition movement threatened to tear the country into two that is, North and South. The antislavery groups led to formation of Fugitive slave Act that allowed for the return of runaway slaves. Penalties were instituted to those who advocated for antislavery publications in the South. Fear spread across the South due to a panic that the Northern states were planning genocide against them for supporting slavery. Dred Scott decision was enacted, which did not grant people of color American citizenship. North and South became enemies to each other since they differed on the issue of ending slavery in the United States.
Abolition movements served as the second messiah who came to liberate and emancipate people of color who were tortured under the bondage of slavery. Social conflict theory addresses the social ills that existed in American society. Antislavery movements salvaged the situation and ended slavery (Cameron, 2017). Immigrants acquired freedom after a long struggle from British colonists. The theory of social conflict affirms the formation of abolition movement across the American continent and the rest of the world.
References
Bystrova, E. G., & Gottschalk, P. (2015). Social conflict theory and white-collar criminals: why does the ruling class punish their own?.
Cameron, C. (2017). To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and the Making of the Antislavery Movement.
Carter, B. (2015). Capitalism, Class Conflict, and the New Middle Class (RLE Social Theory) . Routledge.
Hogg, M. A. (2016). Social identity theory. In Understanding peace and conflict through social identity theory (pp. 3-17). Springer, Cham.
Julius, K. C. (2015). The Abolitionist Decade, 1829-1838: A Year-by-Year History of Early Events in the Antislavery Movement . McFarland.
