Embedded Files
Economic and Political Connections between
Document 7: “Influence of Slavery on Invention,” The Liberator, January 28, 1853
Document 7: “Influence of Slavery on Invention,” The Liberator, January 28, 1853
This article appeared in The Liberator at the height of the antislavery movement. It presents the number of patents issued to people in various states in 1851 and draws a connection between slavery and invention.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Commissioner of Patents: The director of the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
Influence of Slavery on Invention. – The last
report of the Commissioner of Patents contains the following statement of the number of patents issued to citizens of different States, during the year 1851 : --
In addition, eleven patents were granted to citizens of the District of Columbia, and eighteen to foreigners.
It appears that during the year, 658 patents were issued to citizens of the free States, and only 64, or less than one tenth of that number, to citizens of the slave States. This strikingly illustrates the depressing and paralyzing influence of slavery.
Text-Dependent Questions
Text-Dependent Questions
What conclusion is the author drawing about the number of patents awarded to residents of slave and free states?
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
What else might account for the difference in the number of patents granted to slave states vs. free states?
What other markers of progress could you look at to see whether slavery was holding back the South?
Citation“Influence of Slavery on Invention,” The Liberator, January 28, 1853https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:5h7421532
Page updated
Report abuse