Slavery In America Research Paper

Slavery is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, “ the state of being owned by another person”. Slavery was a practice commonly used in the United States. It involved enslaving millions of African people. Although slavery was detrimental to the slaves, it proved to have beneficial values to slave owners and people running the slave trade. In this paper, I will explain the role that slavery played in developing the United States.
International slave trade had been practiced for centuries before it began to appear in the Americas. It was especially prosperous in Spain, Portugal, Holland, and Britain (textbook). Colonists soon realized that with the boom of cash crops that they would need more hands to tend to the field, so they tried to finmeans of labor forces. Indentured servitude was looked to, however, it was much too costly. With
Many industries in America depended on slave labor to run efficiently. Each plantation was not only a symbol of individual economic success, but it impacted national and international economics. For example, cotton plantations were seen as the main regional economy for the South. However, it was not only regional but also national. The Cotton was not shipped straight to Europe, but shipped to New York and then to Europe. So, the economy in New York benefitted from the fruits of slave labor. Cotton was also shipped to other parts of the United States to be manufactured.
Slave trade was also dealt with in direct relation to the slaves, rather than the fruits of their labor. The financial industries benefitted from slavery. Because slaves were technically a form of property, they held monetary value. Slaves could be used as collateral payment for business transactions. Slave owners would use their slaves to secure loans, more land, or more slaves. They also could be used to settle debts. When the value of estates was calculated, slave’s values would also be