Pre-Civil War Slavery
Slavery has been a major part of not only America, but the rest of the world. Before Abraham Lincoln, during the early 17th century, slavery was a common factor throughout the eastern States. The concept of slavery began when captured enemies from the warring territories were brought back and put to work. These people also were citizens who could not pay their debts. Soon America split into two sections; The North and The South. The North believed that it was more expensive owning a slave then performing to work themselves, and so they usually did not have any slaves. However, The South disagreed and said that possessing a slave was better and was easier. Thus, the South contained many slaves. If an African ever tried to run away, they could usually set their goal to arriving in the North. A slave would carry out the task of his/her master. the task varied from day to day. Sometimes it was washing and feeding the animals, or other times working out in the fields.
 Slaves did not have it easy. They were separated from their native land, culture, and family members. It was a very rare case in which slaves were bought together with someone of their tribe or family. African Americans did not have any rights at all, and so they could not marry one another. They could not even take their master to court if the White man was beating up the slave for no apparent reason. It was a very hard life that all slaves went through, but in the end, The Emancipation Proclamation passed. All Africans had rights and could live their own lives, however, that did not stop the treatment they received from White folks on buses, streets, and stores. Now, everyone is treated equally, no matter what race a human being is, and for this, they would be grateful for.  This is a video of different people discussing slavery and how it began. Enjoy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1RbUxQv4E Pictures: http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/africa/slaves.JPG, http://www.merchantnetworks.com.au/images/C18%20Field%20slaves.jpg ~Sophia Benavides |