Was Slavery An Ethical Issue

1619 is the year in which slavery was born. It took place in the city of Jamestown, Virginia. Africans were captured and shipped to the Americas and were forced to participate in hard labor. In the beginning, slaves were obligated to grow crops such as tobacco. As time went on, the production of cotton played a major role in the south in the 1800’s. During this period, there were certain people in the North who opposed the entire idea of slavery; these people were known as abolitionist. They viewed slavery as a negative issue in America and believed that it contained only horrible aspects. Slavery included things such as the fact that slaves were considered property and had no voice during that era. Also, they experienced unfair and inhumane …show more content…
For starters, having a family was one of the major restrictions for slaves. They weren’t allowed to get married or have children. Along with all of the other harsh things, slaves didn’t have the right to have any form of relationships. Something like this cannot be logically explained. If plantation owners claimed to be Christian worshipers, then they would be aware of the phrase “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) It is intended for people to fall in love and have a family, so by some man being able to take that right away from someone is simply inexcusable. Also, slaves were treated as prisoners. They had a curfew and had to be watched at all times by the overseers. Finally, slaves being deprived of their freedom is unconstitutional. In the Declaration of Independence, it states, “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” (U.S.). Liberty is one of the key unalienable rights mentioned in this document. This should be a clear example of why taking away someone’s freedom is wrong. Slaves should’ve had the right to be a free citizen in this country.
In conclusion, slavery was a terrible system of labor in every way, shape, or form. They weren’t considered people by any means, they experienced unfair treatment in a variety of ways, and they didn’t have the opportunity to live a free life. Both the Bible and the Declaration of Independence show evidence that the whites who were involved with slavery disobeyed these documents. George Fitzhugh has no reasonable explanation of how slavery was rational. Slavery was one of the most dreadful periods in American