A mere two hundred years ago America was very much different from what it is today. The difference is not only about advances in technology and the rapid improvements due to urbanization. The difference can be seen in the social order where democracy co-existed with slavery. Americans living in the 21st century will find it difficult to reconcile these two opposing forces. Democracy is all about freedom and equality. Slavery on the other hand is about oppression and the limitations imposed on the human spirit. Slavery being a part of the socio-economic fabric of the 19th century is something that modern-day Americans may find shameful but during this period even the most eloquent and highly intelligent leaders could not find a way to remove slavery. This is because America needed slave labor to sustain its way of life.
Background
For a very long time, the New World was a colony of Great Britain. King George ruled America from afar. It was not the reason why Americans desired to break free from his tyrannical rule. It was the sense of freedom and destiny awakened by intellectuals and common folks alike who reasoned that there is no reason why they have to work like slaves in order to enrich a foreign ruler. The American Revolution spread like wildfire and George Washington was one of the heroes who led a ragtag group of rebels to victory.
America became independent but upon closer examination, it was only the white people, of European descent who were able to enjoy this newfound freedom. The rest of the population, those with black skin continue to labor in plantations, especially those located in the South. These were slaves of African descent. They were enslaved in Africa, transported, and then sold to American plantation owners. When the British were booted out, they were replaced by a new breed of taskmasters. Thus, blacks, in general, felt no significant difference in their conditions. The British are out but the Negro slaves were still in their chains. In the 19th century when white folks are busy building a nation and taking part in the more significant aspects of creating a new future for their children, Negro slaves were still doing a backbreaking job – unable to vote, own property and more often than not, unable to raise their own family and having a say to how the children should grow up in the land of the free.
The Irony of Slavery
How can courageous patriots turn a blind eye to the oppression that was happening in their own backyard? How can great men of character and integrity fail to see the wickedness of slavery? It does not require a person of great moral and intellectual fortitude to understand that every man, woman, and child must be allowed to live life the way they want to, as long as they are bound by the rule of law. But after the American Revolution, there were great men in America who could have guided the nation into the path of truth and justice. In fact, there were men like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine who were so ahead of their time that they were bold enough to declare their dissatisfaction with how Great Britain can be so calloused not to feel and sympathize with what is going on in the colonies.
This prompted Jefferson and Pain to argue with boldness that no person on earth has the right to oppress others. This is because everyone is equal in the eyes of God. These core values guided men of substance to create The American Declaration for Independence and these are the truths that are embedded in the said declaration:
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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed (Crandall-Bear, p. 74).
These became fighting words and these utterances galvanized a colony transforming it into a Union. The kernel of this idea found its way into the U.S. Constitution and became a beacon, a guiding light for nation-building. It simply means that America is not like other countries where members of the royal family lord it over their subjects. In this liberal-minded country, everyone has the chance to get hold of the American Dream. But then, after surveying the United States in the latter part of the 18th-century one cannot help but notice a major contradiction to the above-stated ideas. Laboring in the fields are men, women, and children who were deprived of basic rights and basic comforts that should have been made available to a human being.
John Adams was one of the intellectual and moral giants who believed in the ideas contained in The American Declaration for Independence and yet he was also one of the many who could not imagine an America where former Negor slaves are not only freedmen but also given the right and privilege to vote. It is easy to understand why Mr. Adams feared the idea of black men and women trooping to voting precincts. First of all these Negro slaves could not read nor write. Secondly, they did not have the chance to go to school and to learn the complex nature of politics. If this is really the explanation why 18th century America was not yet ready for Negro voters then they could have started the process of freeing the slaves, educating them, and training them how to easily transition from a life of slavery into someone who is treated with respect, dignity and given the chance to work in conditions that are favourable to them and not just for their masters and slave owners.
Slavery and Democracy
What is difficult to understand for 21st century Americans is the persistence of the slavery-democracy model. Even if one will give an allowance for a new nation that was formed in the heat of battle and emerging triumphant after a significantly long time under British rule, to experience growing pains, the transition to full democracy was painstakingly slow. In truth the status quo was not challenged by white Americans, there was no evidence that radical changes were about to turn the system upside down. The country had to go through a bloody Civil War in order for American society to consider its policy concerning owning slaves like livestock.
In the meantime, in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War, the members of the elite tried their best to maintain the status quo. In other words, they had no intention to share what they have with a minority group. On the other hand, there were members of the majority whose consciences were pricked and they could no longer turn a blind eye to what was happening to the Union. In response to John Adam’s plea to restrict political participation to those who own property, an ordinary person wrote, “There are many men destitute of eloquence, yet they can see and hear. They can think and judge and are therefore not likely to be wheeled out of their senses by the sophisticated reasoning of all the advocates for this new constitution…” (Crandall-Bear, p. 88). The concept of freedom is not hard to explain. Even those who did not experience how it feels to go to school can yearn for it.
Americans living in the 21st century make judgments based on what they know. For students of history who were born in the last century, they grew up amidst the comfort brought in part by a highly industrialized society and a nation that has become a major trading partner to almost every country in the world. This means that to be an American is to live a life of privilege and tremendous opportunities abound for them. It is therefore difficult to explain why at some point in history men needed to enslave others just to perpetuate their business. The answer is simple. The status of the United States as a global superpower did not happen overnight and there was a time when Americans had to struggle in the early phase of nation-building, especially after Great Britain are no longer available to offer a helping hand.
During the early phase of nation-building, especially in the 18th century, America needed slaves to run farms and vast lands transformed into plantation fields. This is especially true for States situated in the South. Their source of income was solely dependent on cash crops and other agricultural products. Even after the coming of the Age of Industrialization, Southern plantation owners were still highly dependent on agriculture for survival. During those times it was much more efficient to have slaves rather than to hire workers.
This situation made it very difficult for Southerners to let go of their slaves. It was also extremely difficult for them to acquiesce to the later demands of the North to surrender their slaves knowing that the Northern States can survive without the use of Negro slaves. But it did not take long before the clamor for freedom was intensified. After a while there were a lot of runaway slaves, who were able not only to free themselves, they were also able to learn to read and write. These skills served them well in their fight for emancipation. Their strength grew when sympathizers up North were able to join forces with them and together they were able to use the strength of their unity and make their voices heard.
Transition
In the years prior to the Civil War, there were many Americans began to rise to the challenge of removing the shame of slavery in the land. This was made more intense by runaway slaves who happened to know how to read and write. This is not only fascinating because slaves were not given the chance to study but it is made more compelling by the fact that they can now recount their experiences. The word of a witness is something that is difficult to challenge. No amount of propaganda can cover the sins of slave owners. One of the most vocal critics of slavery in the South was a former Negro slave named Frederick Douglas.
Mr. Douglas did not only suffer terribly in the hands of his slave masters, but he was also able to experience the great joy of being a free man. From that time forward, he could no longer contain it within him and so he needed to find an avenue where he can express what was bottled up inside him. In one speech Douglas said the following, “Treat us then like men, and we will be your friends, and there is no doubt in my mind, but that the whole of the past will be sunk into oblivion, and we will yet, under God, become a united and happy people” (Crandall-Bear, p. 217). His words did not immediately take effect but when the light that he carried was combined with other former slaves who experienced emancipation their collective effort was enough to make a lasting impact.
Booker T. Washington is another highly influential figure during this period and he was also a former Negro slave. In his book, Up from Slavery, he wrote, “…I recall that I had an intense longing to read. I determined, when quite a small child, that, if I accomplished nothing else in life, I would in some way get enough education to enable me to read common books and newspapers” (p. 19). With this kind of ability to write and communicate effectively men like Washington and Douglas were able to attract others who will join them in their fight against this grave injustice. Douglas added:
The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretense, and your Christianity as a lie. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing, and byword to mocking earth (Douglas, p. 222).
It did not take long before the two camps; North and South were forced to settle their differences on the battlefield. It is one thing to fight a foreign army it is also another to fight and kill one’s own brothers (Eyerman, p. 23). North and South were separated by boundaries but its people were all Americans. It was a conflict that should have been avoided at all costs but in the end, war was inevitable. Each camp is made ready for major conflict. It was just a shame that human life and properties were destroyed by enemy fir.
Conclusion
It was really ironic, to have a free country on one hand and slavery on another. Slave owners of 18th century America can be easily ridiculed by the younger generation who find it immoral to keep slaves. On the other hand, those who are living in the present have no clear idea why slavery was important to the South. The Southern states were highly dependent on cash crops and therefore manual labor. This is the main reason why they have to tenaciously hold to their slaves. But it did not take long before engineers discovered how these machines are supposed to work. In the end, their major differences had to be settled in a Civil War. Americans paid dearly for that role. But when the dust settled, the Federal government won, and the North overcame the South, paving the way for the emancipation of Negro slaves.
Works Cited
- Crandall-Bear, Dale. Exploring the American Past. Tillerman Press, 2007.
- Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, An American Slave. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Eyerman, Ron. Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery. New York: Penguin Books, 2000.