Slavery was the single most important factor in the rise of the United States. African slaves provided not only a huge work force, but also a cheap one. They contributed everywhere from farms to the maritime industry. Their population allowed the nation to grow and turn into a power.
From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, over six hundred thousand African slaves were shipped to the United States. By the mid 1800’s, the African slave population had grown to be over 4 million. That number doesn’t include all of the free blacks and those that were born of a mixed decent of both Caucasian and African decent. If you combine these three numbers, individuals of African descent almost reached eight million by the mid-eighteenth century. That is almost a third of the entire population of the U.S. during that time. This large demographic helped the country grow and be able to sustain itself during early wars such as the Civil War.
As a developing nation, African slaves offered an incredibly cheap and even skilled workforce. Slaves from the west coast of Africa brought knowledge that ended up being immensely useful making sugar and other cash crops. Slaves in the Maritime industry were crucial. They were immensely important to the transportation network. Without them there wouldn’t have been enough workers to repair boats, “the network would have broken down.”
These ideas can be seen again in 21st century. Immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries supply one of the biggest workforces in California, one of the top ten economies in the world. Movies like “A Day Without a Mexican” joke about how much middle and upper class people in California depend on the Latin community to function. A large number of low paying jobs that make our lives easier, such as fast food employees, gardeners and others help let the economy flow. This was the same three hundred years ago when plantation owners and other high class individuals depended on the black slave to make them money. Without slaves, the United States economy never would have gotten off the ground.
The slave trade helped the United States gain the wealth and population necessary to move into a state of power in the world. Who knows, if wasn’t for slavery the United States may never had grown economically strong enough to separate from the British Empire. There is no absolutely no doubt that if it wasn’t for the African slaves, the U.S. would be a very different place.
1 comment:
It is refreshing to read a positive in site on slavery. “African slaves provided not only a huge work force, but also a cheap one. ... Their population allowed the nation to grow and turn into a power.” Faragher says, “because of them they built a strong community amongst them under extremely difficult circumstances. The cohesion of African American families and the powerful faith of African American Christianity were the key community elements that bred a spirit of endurance and resistance.” (page 295) Zinn says, “...the frenzy for limitless profit that comes from capitalistic agriculture; the reduction of the slave to less than human status by the use of racial hatred,...black was slave.” (pages 25-26)
“African slaves offered an incredibly cheap and even skilled workforce.” They were probably cheap because they were indentured against their will. They had no choice but to cooperate. Other reason could be they were taken advantage of. Theodore Weld says, “they were overworked, underfed, ...and have insufficient sleep..they are often made to wear round their necks iron collars armed with prongs, to drag heavy chains and weights at their feet while working in the field.” (Two Views of Slavery”) Today, they call this “sweat shops”. Opposition by MeeYing
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