Slavery the Institution of Slavery Essay

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By 1861 the political and economic disagreement concerning the issue of slavery came to a head and the civil war began. During the civil war slaves fought in both the confederate and union armies.

In 1862 and 1863 respectively President Lincoln issued executive orders referred to as the emancipation proclamation. These proclamations basically set slaves in the southern states free.

By 1865 the civil war came to an end and by July of 1865 most slaves were freed.

As it relates to economics, it is important to understand that the establishment and perpetuation of slavery was always about monetary benefit. Slaves provided land owners with access to abundant and free labor. Not having to pay people for labor results in increased profitability. During the 1600's colonist first began to understand the economic benefits associated with slavery and slaves became more valuable than indentured servants (Boskin). The value of slaves increased because slaves could be servants perpetually while indentured servants only had to work for an established amount of time. The primary reason why the civil war took place had to do with the economy of the south and the fear that it could not survive in the absence of slaves. During the civil war and throughout reconstruction the plantations of the south suffered greatly and eventually met their demise.

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However, some of the wealthiest families in America today have slave labor as the foundation of their wealth. The contribution of American slaves to the building of America's economy has never been fully acknowledged or understood.

From a social standpoint, black people in America have always been viewed as an inferior race of people. Throughout the 1600's blacks were not treated equally and the establishment of a legal paradigm in which black people could be treated as nothing more than property, perpetuated these ideas of inferiority. During reconstruction (1866-1877) American society was a difficult place for blacks to exist; black people did not know how to be free and white people did not know how to live with and around black people who were not slaves (Reconstruction and its Aftermath). There was often a great deal of tension and hostility toward blacks because White slave owners no longer had unrestricted access to free labor which greatly reduced or in some cases completely abolished the profitability of their plantations (Reconstruction and its Aftermath).

By 1877, racial tensions were still apparent and black people were sill viewed and inferior. Some blacks moved to the north but mass migration to the north did not occur until much later in American history......

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