Slavery
Background
• Slavery began in prehistoric times and has been
practiced ever since.
• The slavery of ancient times reached its peak in Greece
and the Roman Empire.
• During the Middle Ages, slavery declined.
• During the 1500's and 1600's, the colonization of the
New World by Europeans resulted in a great expansion
of slavery.
• Changing moral attitudes about slavery helped cause its
decline during the 1800's.
• The United States abolished slavery in 1865.
• Today, slavery is illegal in almost every country in the
world. But slavery still exists in parts of Africa, Asia, and
South America.
Slavery
A. Industrialization
1. in the early 1800’s, the north became more
and more industrial using immigrant
labor
2. Southern industries were also profitable,
but few understood it and were not
willing to give up slavery
3. farms with slaves were 29% more
productive than those without
Slavery
B. Preservation of slavery
1. The basic American value of property rights
2. Slavery was also a system of dominance and
control
3. Southerners needed the force of the
government to maintain and expand slavery
4. nearly 1/3 of the population in the south were
slaves
5. not all plantations relied on slave labor
Slavery
C. Problems with slavery
1. much slavery in the South was cruel and violent even
by the standard of its defenders
2. slavery put at risk both liberty and equality for all
races; the south was becoming a police state
3. the “twin relics of barbarism” slavery and polygamy in
the territories
4. both sides were so committed to their position that
the only options were:
compromises, war, or allowing the South to leave
Slavery
D. The South and Secession
1. Power of state governments vs. federal government
2. Under the Declaration of Independence the South did
have the right to secede, based on the view that
slaves were “property”
3. in most southern states the secession vote was
close; “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for
good men to do nothing”
4. the concept of “citizenship” at the time originated in
the state
Discussion
How can we not view the South as
completely evil?