Slavery was a problem for America
ever since the country drew up the Constitution. Most northern states wanted
slavery abolished, but southern states fought back saying slavery was vital to
their economy. Because half the states were slave states and the other half free states,
no decision could be made and slavery continued to occur in the south. The slaves
were "blacks" who were forced to labor for their owners. About 50% of
slaves worked in plantations while others worked in cities as domestic
servants, factory hands, craftsmen, and day laborers. The conditions slaves
were forced to live in were terrible. People would separate family members and
treated them in cruel ways like whipping, underfeeding, and overworking.
Although some slaves managed to become free, they lived under the threat of
being captured and had almost no rights. Truthfully, the only thing slaves had
was their culture. The culture of the slaves was based off religion. It helped
them create bonds with each other and endure the cruel conditions. Slaves
expressed their culture through folk songs. Some of the songs even had coded
messages about how to escape. Another thing slaves had was hope of a brighter
future. They found hope through a bible story when Moses leads the Hebrew out of
bondage in Egypt.
Unfortunately, their bright future didn't come. When the Industrial Revolution
began the demand for raw materials like cotton increased dramatically. Of
course the cotton came from the south and in order to harvest all that cotton
more slaves were needed. As a result, the slave population doubled. However,
around the same time a machine called the cotton gin was invented. The cotton
gin made it easier for the slaves to clean cotton whereas before only a pound
of cotton could be cleaned per person each day. Southern plantation owners
became very rich with the cotton demand and the slaves just suffered more.
While all of this is happening, abolitionists were attempting to end slavery.
Many people planned rebellions to get states to make laws against slavery.
Perhaps one of the most famous slavery related rebellion was one led by Nat
Turner. He and seventy other follows killed fifty-five "white people"
in Southampton County, Virginia.
As retaliation "white people" killed over two-hundred
"blacks", limited "blacks” freedoms, and killed the rebels.
Other rebellions include when Gabriel Prosser planned an attack on Richmond
to protest slavery and when Denmark Vessey planned to revolt in Charleston, South Carolina
in 1822. Both plots were given up or discovered and the two leaders and some
followers from each attempt were hanged.
