12/10/15
American History
Mr. Bobo
Slavery
Slavery is the complete ownership of a person to another person. The person who has the ownership is commonly known as the master. They were brought over to the United States by Europeans. The slave masters took women, pregnant women, men and children from their home. They were shackled and put at the bottom deck of the boat stacked on top of each other for the voyage across seas to America. Many of the slaves didn’t survive the voyage due to disease, fatigue, and famine. In my essay I will reflect on slavery roles, assimilation, and abolishment of slavery.
Women were the majority of early African slaves. In addition to agricultural work, female slaves of dark complexion were called field slaves they carried out other duties, such as trading and cotton spinning and dyeing. Women of lighter complexion were named house slaves, their duties included such as preparing food, washing clothes, and cleaning. Male slaves typically farmed and herded animals. Those who belonged to wealthy families and especially of ruling lineages of states also worked as porters and rowers, and learned crafts such as weaving, construction, and metalwork. New slaves were sometimes given menial tasks while experienced slaves did the more difficult and dangerous work, such as mining and quarrying. Some …show more content…
Advocating for immediate emancipation distinguished abolitionists from more moderate anti-slavery advocates who argued for gradual emancipation, and from free-soil activists who sought to restrict slavery to existing areas and prevent its spread further west. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be