American Slavery & Freedom: Examining the People-Driven Forces - Essay Sample

Introduction

The theme of American slavery and American freedom remains fundamental to historians as it encapsulates the events spanning from the pre-colonial period that necessitated the occurrence of civil war. Historians examined that American oppression and American freedom are linked together to people-driven forces. Such incidences occur when people are enslaved in America and the unequal treatment of Americans. As such, historians argue that these events have convinced Americans to love their freedom and further embrace equality extremely compared to U.S citizens. It is from such incidences that the course of American history was evaluated in consideration of the multicultural groups of people who toiled to achieve equality and liberty which was informed by the hatred and fear of captivity. The following are examples of historical aspects opposed to the idea, and as such, they render the idea baseless and contradictory.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Racial Discrimination and the Slavery of African-Americans

American freedom and equality is a stressed subject in America since the 1600s. One of the fundamental examples rendering American freedom and equal treatment of citizens is the slavery of African-Americans. The African-Americans were employed by the wealthy top work in their farms even though there was a myriad of interventions to end slavery. An excellent intervention measure to end slavery was the adoption of a new constitution in 1787, following the American Revolution. The constitution demanded that the slave trade, the importation, and sale of slaves in the country should come to an end by 1808. Even so, slavery was still thriving by 1800. The landscape of the slave trade indicates that Americans do not treat each other equally. The slavery factor substantiates this claim because the white slave traders would not enclave their white counterparts. Also, the fact that lave traders violated the constitution by continuing with the slave trade amplifies the incongruence between American freedom and slavery. In this dimension, it is arguable that the constitutional frameworks enhancing freedom were tailored to benefit the whites in which it did not apply to the African-Americans.

The Reinvigoration of Slavery; Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin of 1793

The constitutional frameworks demanded the end of slavery, and this would enhance the freedom of Americans. However, it contradicts the aspect of liberty and fairness since white people were not subjected to slavery. Also, the slave merchants went ahead with the importation and forceful subjection of people to torture. The enslaved African-Americans were never allowed to access particular social amenities such as schools, and they would not shop together with their white counterparts. To this point, it is clear that the whites and African-Americans were not at per because the access and exploitation of social amenities set particular differences between them. The last bit of this contradiction regards the fact that the southern states persisted with the slave trade and the employment of slave traders. It was a reflection of the double standards because the government tolerated the humiliation of the people of the southern states who were subjected to African-Americans to slavery. The malpractice was despite laws prohibited as enshrined in the constitution regarding such economic activities. In 1793, Eli Whitney's cotton gin reinvigorated slavery at a time in which freedom campaigns and measures were rising. The machine meant that farmers could produce more cotton, and as such, farmers needed more human labor with which the African-Americans could supply. The contradiction, as such, regards the fact that slavery continued long beyond 1800 after the introduction of the new constitution. To this point, it becomes clear that American freedom and slavery are two distinct issues that would never be integrated.

Stono Rebellion

On September 9, 1739, slaves gathered and raided firearms shop, around the Stono River, and subsequently killed some 20 whites as they traveled to the southern states. As they traveled south, more slaves joined the rebellion, and in the process, the white community staged a retaliation and pursuit of the slaves who had escaped from their farms. At dusk, half of the slaved were killed, and the other half managed to escape, and this hindered the 60 slaves from reaching St. Augustine, Florida, where slaves were offered land and freedom for fugitive slaves, by the Spanish community. In response, white colonialists formulated and passed an act, the Negro Act that further clipped and limited the slaves of slaves' privileges. Stono rebellion, as such, indicates that American slavery and freedom are a contradiction because the white colonialists enhanced the oppression instead of eradicating it.

Conclusion

Even though historians argue that American freedom and American slavery go hand-in-hand, the case is otherwise. Several historical events provide succinct examples that indicate the contradiction between American freedom and slavery. An excellent example is the Stono River rebellion that saw the death of slaves through execution, and worse still, the introduction of the Negro Act clipping their privileges. Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin of 1793 also exhibits the contradiction of history because it facilitated the employment of slaves in cotton farms instead of setting the captives free and the violation of constitutional demands on human freedom and the slave trade. At the promulgation of America's constitution in 1787, the new structure demanded the abolishment of the slave trade by 1800. However, the practices were still widespread, especially in the southern states where much defiance was noted.

Bibliographies

Hakim, Besim Selim. Arabic Islamic Cities Rev: Building and Planning Principles. Routledge, 2013.

Lansford, Tom, and Thomas E. Woods, eds. Exploring American History: From Colonial Times to 1877. Marshall Cavendish, 2008.