Slavery And The Civil War

Slavery and the American Civil War

Slavery led to the American civil war in which several people lost their lives while fighting to achieve specific aims. For instance, the whites enslaved the Africans and the former considerably struggled to maintain the status quo in the society. On the other hand, some of the blacks participated in the civil war so as to change the slavery situation in the community (NPS 1). In essence, slavery contributed to the civil war in the ways such as the Nat Turner’s rebellion, life under slavery and the aggressive defense of slavery.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

Illingworth (1) postulates that life under slavery was so cruel to the black slaves thereby prompting the slaves to initiate efficient ways of breaking off the cruelty of their masters. For instance, the whites depended on the blacks for free labor. However, under some circumstances, the blacks were not devoting adequate efforts in the plantations. As a result, the slave owners resorted to violent methods as the ways of ensuring maximal output from the laborers. However, the continued mistreatment by the white slave owners did not please the African slaves who then revolted against the whites so as to change the slavery in the society. The examination of the context of the civil war indicates that forced labor was prevalent in most of the cotton plantations thereby prompting the laborers to fight for the changes that could significantly emancipate their lives (Illingworth 1).

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

In the case of Nat Turner’s rebellion, a number of black slaves walked around killing the whites whom they encountered in 1831(Wood & Walbert 1). The essence of the revolution was to hit back at the whites whom the black African viewed as the primary source of the troubles that the Africans were encountering. On the other hand, the whites saw the actions by group Nat Turner and others as a dangerous activity which was worth stopping (NPS 12). As a result, the whites formed groups and attacked the blacks thereby resulting into a general animosity between the whites and the blacks (Wood& Walbert 1). For instance, the white gangs turned against the blacks whom the former frustrated in various ways.

Aggressive Defense of Slavery

The southern part of America viewed slaves and slavery to be a critical factor in the promotion of the economic activities in the region (Mintz 1). Consequently, the southerners did not accept the decline in the number of slaves due to the development of some strategies by northern American states to abolish the slave trade and slavery. Besides, some individuals in the Southern states viewed the decline of slaves to be a threat to the latter’s economic success (NPS 6). Therefore, the Americans in the states of the south engaged in militant activities so as to safeguard slavery in the society. However, the northern states were not ready to continue providing free labor to the south. As a result, there erupted the civil war between the southern and northern regions of American which led to the abolition of slave trade and slavery thereby culminating in the establishment of USA (Mintz 1).

Conclusion

In sum, slavery significantly contributed to the development of the civil war which led to the demise of many Americans. Indeed, some factors such as the Nat Turner’s slave rebellion, aggressive defense of slavery, and the unfavorable conditions under which the slaves lived. Consequently, the oppressed members of the American Society fought to change the status of the community while the slave owners participated in the war so as to maintain the current situation in the community.

Works Cited