Dbq Slavery

The great nation of America was founded on the principles of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness as unalienable Rights. However, it is ironic that some of the nation’s Founding Fathers i.e. Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves themselves despite their common belief that all men are created equal. Originally, slavery was not a major institution in the colonies, but by 1860 the Slavery had become such a profitable industry that the value of enslaved blacks exceeded the value of all banks, railroads, and factories combined . During the nineteenth century, the South greatly profited from the trade in comparison to the North, especially due to the introduction of the cotton gin. In addition, the South’s geography favored the growing of cash crops …show more content…
One of the major reasons why natives could not be forced to work on the farms is because they knew the geography very well and had the ability to run away easily. Also, some of the Native Indians had created good relationships with the colonies, thus any attempt to enslave them would lead into civil war. Unfortunately, black slaves fell victim of the trade and were treated as property whereby they would be simply sold and moved as their master pleased. According to Tindall, slaves were subjected to harsh and violent conditions whereby food and clothing provided to them was so insufficient that it made them vulnerable to illnesses and diseases. This was obviously contrary to the doctrines that built the foundations of the American nation – equality for …show more content…
The article expressed Fitzhugh’s strong standpoint regarding freeing slaves as he defended the institution. The document is an accurate representation of the accounts that perpetrated in the nineteenth century as they enable the reader to travel back in time, experience and understand the perspectives held in defense of Slavery. As one reads through the article, it is also clear that the life and culture of the time the document was written greatly influenced by agricultural advancements and the importance of social statuses. In the article, Fitzhugh was quick to mention that freedom of slaves was a terrible experiment. His rationale, based on a social perspective, expounded his argument against freedom of slaves whereby he demonstrated that France and northern states had failed by promoting liberty and freedom. He claimed that they had ignored the fact that the above mentioned do not necessarily promote happiness to the communities but rather endanger the society. He claimed that it was the law of nature that enabled and drove, the stronger race – which in his perspective was the white race, to oppress and exterminate the weaker race – the black race. His argument was that equality and liberty solely restricted nature from taking its course. According to Tindall, Fitzhugh also claimed that the northern factories were also guilty of practicing slavery by extorting their workers for profit then