American Negro Slavery

The topic of slavery has been a divisive issue throughout history and has been the root of much conflict between individuals, groups and indeed nations. The legacy of slavery in the United States remains clearly evident today, in terms of the damaged psyche, the long-term negative effect it has had on Black America and intense emotions it brings out whenever it is discussed, no matter what the colour of those who are engaged in debate about the issue. Through an examination of “Time in the cross: the economics of American Negro slavery,” by Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman and other various economic commentators, critics and historians, slavery will be looked at through both a short and long-term perspective as it relates to the …show more content…
This production plan, proposed by other historians, stated that the evolution of slavery plantation production could be divided into stages. This varied in areas, however, there seemed to be a common evolution of how a slavery and farm worked. For example, these three stages could have included a developmental stage, a high profit and a final phase. In the developmental stage, slaves were used to clear forest, build roads and construct building that were necessary for plantations. In the second-high profit stage, slave owners earned enormous amounts of income from the cash crop of cotton they grew for export. Slaves were pushed to produce enormous amounts of product. Any lost, or failed crop put the owners in a place where they could lose their initial investment in the land and slaves and suffer drastically. Successful crops, however, could earn the owners such high returns to the owners, making them very wealthy. During this stage, the plantation owners were able to receive enough income that would cover the costs of purchasing a