Abolitionist Movement

America’s society today would be vastly different without the influence of African Americans in the past. The abolitionist movement was not in vain, for it has changed the hearts and minds of almost every individual alive today. The economy of the South was richly built upon the backs of slaves, and slaveowners quickly rose to power. The development of slavery can be looked at as a process, and one that took a firm hold. Social Darwinism fueled the slave trade through its duration and increased white power drastically. Of course, Africans would sell other Africans into the slave trade, and several wealthy Africans may have owned slaves themselves. Many involved in the slave trade did so for the financial benefits, and not simply the oppression,
The heavy influence of slavery was somewhat stemmed in Europe due to the abolishment of the slave trade between Africa and Great Britain. “By 1850, millions of Africans had been transported to the new world, making up around half of the population. By 1804, all of the northern states had outlawed slavery, making it the getaway on the underground railroad” (Barbara C. Bigelow). Although many slaves escaped to freedom in the northern states, if they were found by officials, they could be returned to their slave owners in the south. This made Canada the next best option for escapees. As the abolitionist movement grows, more join the fight and Americans are forced to take sides for what they believe in. As abolitionists rise, feminist groups grow as well, for equality between genders as well as race. The end of slavery did not come to be until the near end of the civil war. “And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons” (Emancipation Proclamation). With this, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in
With almost 3.9 million new Americans entering society, a big change was to come to the north and south alike. “Many southerners believe, even today, that reconstruction was a bitter time of defeat. But others now say this period after the Civil War was a necessary step in creating a different kind of South from the one which had existed before” (ManyThings.org). The options for recent slaves did not seem very vast, or hopeful. The most available option for many would be to work for their previous owners for a meager pay, this, however, would not have been such a good improvement from where they were at before. A majority were in favor for the government to provide land to new citizens so that they could make a living, and to avoid working for their previous owners in barely improved conditions. The Freedmen’s Bureau was created to assist former slaves. “The Bureau took over abandoned and confiscated land to rent out in forty-acre plots to freemen who might be able to buy it within three years” (Where Do We Go From Here?). A majority of slaves worked their own land and provided their own sustenance. “Many freed slaves remained on their plantations and worked as sharecroppers. In this arrangement landowners (former plantation owners) also had no money to hire workers, so what they would do is allow a freed slave to work the land and give a portion of the