The History Of Slavery In America

Slavery, perhaps, was one of the most controversial times of the newly founded country and continued for nearly two centuries. It became an important labor source for America and was essential to the economy. Although many supported it, slavery soon became a contentious topic that would be debated for years to come. Despite the South’s many attempts to keep human trafficking, slavery inevitably changed over time. Frederick Douglass, who was an influential African-American leader, was significant to the abolition movement and was part of the storm that help change America’s ways. Enslavement in America was a significant event in the history of America and is similar to the Holocaust.
Slavery first began when a Dutch ship brought the first
One important event where slavery was discussed was the revision of the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress had many conflicts while discussing the Constitution such as choosing between the New Jersey Plan or the Virginia Plan. Another important issue that came up was slavery. The Northern states had objected the Southern states proposition of slaves being counted as representation. They argued that they should be counted as taxation because they were considered property. However neither side had once considered giving the enslaved people a vote. The issue was later resolved because of James Madison’s proposal that enslaved people should be counted as three-fifths of a person, which was known as the three-fifths compromise. Slavery in the Northern states had become virtually extinct and they wanted to end slave trade. Considering that slavery became essential to the economy of the South they opposed any decision to abolish or change slavery. Three states, Georgia, North and South Carolina had threatened to leave the United States if slave trade was banned so anti-slavery states were forced to stop their demands. Anti-slavery states still continued to argue that the Constitution should ban participating in the slave trade but the delegations didn’t want the ratification of the Constitution to fail over the issue of slavery so they postponed the
Douglass was born into slavery in 1818 and chose to celebrate his birthday on February 14. His mother had died when he was ten and he lived with his maternal grandmother, Betty Bailey. Later he was sent to Baltimore and served in the home of Hugh Auld. Auld’s wife, Sophia, had taught just the alphabet to him but soon stopped because her husband prohibited her to educate the slaves. But Douglass yearned for knowledge and soon learned how to read and write because of poor white kids who would teach in exchange for food. Because of this, Douglass was able to read the Colombian Orator and see truly for what slavery was. With the new knowledge, Douglass was determined to end the human trafficking and escaped slavery in 1838 with the help of Anna Murray who he fell in love with. After many struggles Douglass married Anna and they settled in the black community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Douglass became a frequent advocate for the abolition and presented many speeches. He also expressed his thoughts through writing biographies that influenced many people. Douglass became the most known black man during the Civil War and the first African-American to hold a high position in the government. Frederick died on February 20, 1895 from a heart attack. Douglass showed that African-Americans can be intelligent and led the path for other black people to rise to