Slavery and the Civil War Thesis

Masters began to look at their slaves as inferior to them, more like animals than humans. While the conditions of slavery in the United States during the colonial period were not as harsh as they were under the second-generation masters, the character of the slave trade during these second-generation masters included harsh beatings for discipline ("Slavery in the United States," 2009). Indeed, the entire institution of slavery was wrought with human rights abuses that many soon began to see as contrary to the Declaration of Independence and Spirit of America ("Slavery in the United States," 2009). Certainly, from a millennial viewpoint, it makes sense that forcing a person to work in harsh, deplorable conditions, have no control over their lives, and face the possibility of the sale of him or herself and his or her family members without notice is the polar opposite of freedom.

As Americans began to realize this, abolitionist groups began to rise up. Despite the fact that many masters saw themselves as the kindly guardians of their slaves who treated them with the respect and kindness of a father or king taking care of his children or subjects, the slave trade was abolished in the 1830s ("Slavery in the United States," 2009). Of course, abolition in the South would take a greater effort than abolishing it in the North, where it was already limited. In the South, however, slavery was the backbone of the region's economic well-being. Because of this, and for ideological reasons, slavery became the issue that polarized the North and the South leading up to the Civil War. Both Northern and Southern learned men made the case for slavery eloquently, citing religious, moral, and social reasons for its continuance or its abolition ("Slavery in the United States," 2009).When President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, war naturally had to follow. Although it was based on slavery, it was more an embodiment of the two sides' ideologies than a struggle over the issue of slavery itself. It was a struggle for identity, and the identity of freedom won.

Thus, slavery in the United States was an abominable institution that took many lives and questioned the degree to which the United States put into practice its values. But because of slavery, the Civil War was fought, and by winning this war, the North set the precedent for freedom in all circumstances in the United States. Resting on its wings came the civil rights movement and other fights for equality that are still raged in the United States. In United States citizens, the abolition of slavery and victory of the North in the Civil War created the notion that freedom is always worth struggling for.

References

Robinson, B.A. (2007). Slavery in the Bible. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.religioustolerance.org/sla_bibl.htm

"Slavery in the United States," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2009

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