The Slave Industry

Slavery ~ A Wretched thing it is!

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for

slavery, I feel a strong impulse to

see it tried on them personally.~ A. Lincoln

Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.~ F. Douglass

Can we Ever Gain an Appreciation for h0w horrible this act really

was?

Human Beings – Real People – taken from their families, never to be seen again.

Shipped across an ocean for months, chained to the floor of a ship.

Sold at an auction like an animal.

Sent to live and work under horrible conditions for the rest of their lives.

No hope for any type of justice, any type of freedom, or any family.

WhY?

There is Hope in the Human Spirit – Not to give up!

To know that there a better day is coming!

To persevere, it takes strength, courage

and faith…

Slavery in America found it’s beginnings in Africa.

Shipped across an ocean for months, chained to the floor of a ship.

Slavery began amongst the warring tribes enslaving each other.

The Europeans, out of greed expanded the slave trade industry from Northern Africa, west to the Americas.

Although a majority of the Atlantic Slave trade industry went to South and Central America, a percentage of slaves did end up in North America.

How could we ?

How did we ?

It was in the 1500’s and that the first African were brought in by the Spanish.

However a revolt followed and these African escaped into the wilderness.

In 1619 a Dutch trading shipped came into Jamestown and brought with them 20

slaves to trade. From that year on, the slave industry steadily grew each year.

As the colonies began to grow and establish themselves in the different regions,

slavery also grew.

Warmer weather with fertile lands developed a plantation society in the South

(growing Indigo, rice and tobacco). These crops were very labor intensive. The

European plantation owners did not want to work and only a few controlled vast

amounts of land.

Therefore the slave industry thrived and their economy came to depend on the slave

market.

In contrast, the North was very different from the South. Colder climate, not

conducive to farming any plants and very wet. The main industries in this area was

lumber (ship building) and fishing. There was no need for slaves.

Still, the slave population in the South grew steadily until the 1700’s as the colonies

began to define themselves. In contrast, the North saw a rapid growth of religious

groups who abhorred slavery.

Slavery and Regionalism

The importation of slaves from Africa was only about 5% in N

American compared to C and S America.

When the Constitution was signed the slave industry was being phased

out. There was an agreement to end the importation of slaves by 1808.

However, in 1793 with new technology such as the invention of the

cotton gin, the slave industry was energized.

Life on the Plantation The harsh realityPlantation owners would purposely never bring in slaves

from the same village or kept those, who spoke the same

native language.

The slave community developed their own language.

Plantation owners would purposely break up families and

sell women and children off and away from their parents.

Through music and spiritual songs, the slave community

maintained community and hope.

Plantation owners used other slaves as overseers to keep the

people hard at work.

At times the slave community rebelled, leaving the planation

community to live in fear.

Slavery was always controversial!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.– Declaration of Independence

How Far have we come?