Influence Of Slavery On American History - 1351 Words

Influence of Slavery on American History From the first 20 slaves brought to Jamestown in 1619, the abolishment of slavery through the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution, slaves and slavery have played an important role in the establishment and economic growth of the United States of America. From its beginning, slavery has divided America on its pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Separating from its own oppressor on the words â€Å"That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights†¦ † while still holding these same beliefs and rights from men and women that were not white. Close to 40 percent of the population in the Southern â€Å"slave† states were the slaves themselves,†¦show more content†¦The North profited from the sale of slaves as well as from the mass production of cotton and tobacco that was grown in the south from the enslaved labor. Both of these crops had an unquenchable demand with roaring profits both locally and when exported. When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, the demand for cotton skyrocketed. Many southerners believed that the cotton enterprise depended on more slave labor with bigger crops and more fertile land which pushed farmers to acquire more land. T hus expanding the railroad to have more railroad mileage in place by 1860 than any region outside of the northern United States.(Drescher) With this lust for more land, opened the issue of whether new states would allow or disallow slavery. This argument was tested each time new land was acquired, but it originated in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. Under the Missouri Compromise, Maine was to enter the union as a free state while Missouri entered as a slave state. The reasoning behind this was that the balance would remain equal between free and slave states, however, slavery was prohibited in all land lying above the 36, 30’ latitude line. We must also look to the compromise of 1850 when California wanted to join the Union. This compromise allowed California to enter as a free state, prohibited slave trade in Washington DC, and also introduced a stricter fugitive slave law. Under this stricter law, citizens, whetherShow MoreRelatedEssay on Slavery In American History1430 Words   |  6 PagesProclamation. Just like our textbook---A Short History of the American Nation,  ¡Ã‚ °No reform movement of t his era was more significant, more ambiguous in character, or more provocative of later historical investigation than the drive to abolish slavery. ¡Ã‚ ± Abolition Movement was not only meaningful to itself, that is, slavery was abolished and black slaves were freed, but also meaningful to the whole nation, because it exerted much influences on American society and economy. 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