The Antebellum Period

While Reconstruction after the Civil War seemed to have promise for former slaves, there were still many hardships. President Andrew Johnson’s leniency with the south during this decisive period allowed for there to be debate over what the fate of freed slaves should be. Some believed that continuing to work in the fields they were once slaves in was the best option for blacks because of their past as field workers, while others believed that there were more options for blacks than just farm work as seen in the schools built in the south for the black population by the Freedman’s Bureau. However, the question still remained as to what freedom for blacks truly meant. People’s opinions on what freedom for ex-slaves needed to be depended exclusively on their race and their socioeconomic status.

Historically oppressed Americans, the poor, female, and nonwhite, began to understand the impact education should have on their lives (The Gilded Age). Education freed the slaves, created a middle class, and decreased corruption in the federal government at the end of the 19th century. However, this new power created new challenges, because earlier forms government targeted those that are not rich or white in new, more covert ways. The cycle of poverty created for these individuals has made them targets to the judicial system now, that only a few are able to get out of with the help of

One of the most controversial of these is the impact its’ invention had on slavery in America. Instead of slavery becoming obsolete which was the inspiration behind this invention, the cotton gin actually contributed to a massive explosion in the growth of slavery. Whitney thought his invention would decrease the labor involved in production of cotton which in turn would decrease the need for slaves. However, the cotton gin just changed how slaves were used in the production of cotton and did not decrease their need. The cotton gin increased cotton productivity which increased profits for farmers.

Nevertheless, as opposed to the thesis, the author argues that the new racism regarding African Americans has replaced discrimination with undeserved privileges. It is this fact that gives rise to the fear that income growth and welfare are more serious than racism. This turned out to be worse and more serious than just a black war against a grave crisis. The advancement of this disastrous "struggle against racism" generates a group of black leaders parasitizing on it. The civil rights movement shifted its main vector from democratic to capitalistic, thus turning into an economic industry.

People become biased because what they experience every day is normal to them, may not be that normal to other people. After colonization is well stabilized, England established a system of indentured servitude, both Africans and Europeans were the norm for this service. After Bacon’s Rebellion in the mid-1670s, many African servants were seen less and less as servants but more like slaves. They did not get to leave after serving their time of indenture like their white counterparts. They were seen as property, and could not be set free.

This brought a lot of success to the English economy, and since they prospered, they became lenient towards the colonists in America. This was the beginning of salutary neglect, and eventually, the colonists noticed the abandonment from the Europeans. They decided to use this neglect to their own advantages, and they started to trade with other countries other than England, ignoring the Navigation Acts. More countries wanted the sugar and rice of the southern colonies, and this meant higher demands, which lead the the growth of plantations as well as the population of African slaves in America (especially the South). Not only that, when the English tightened up their neglect right around the end of the French and Indian War the South’s economy was the least affected.

During this time period indentured servants were treated more fairly, whereas the slaves were treated unfairly. Unfree laborers played many different roles in society as it shaped the economy of the various colonies. It allowed

Most wealthy southerners were unwilling to do this. They believed that an economy based on cotton and slavery would continue to prosper". This shows that Slaves and cotton were very important to the Southerners. In conclusion, slaves in the south were important people because they managed to do so much stuff with the least number of things. For example, they had their own cultures and they kept that religion going on even through the roughest times in their lives like being separated from their family, or even getting a whipping for no reason.

Sharecropping emerged because slaves that did not move away from plantations. IT was a product of the struggles of the Reconstruction and was in part was a good fit for cotton agriculture. Cotton unlike sugarcane, could be raised efficiently by small farmers. Sharecroppers’ freedom meant not only their individuals lots and cabins but also the school and churches. They could work on their own terms and establish rights to marry, read and write as they pleased, and travel in search of a better life.

“Defenders of slavery claimed that slaves were better off under that system of their own. Their masters provided for all their needs, so slaves did not have to be responsible for their own food, clothing, or housing.” Although they were given food, clothes, and a place to live, they were still treated in a very inhumane way. Slave owners abused them, called them every name that could possibly belittle them. That was normal for slave owners and slaves at the time, but now this type of behavior is illegal. Every slaves dream was to finally be free and to live out their dreams even if it meant they were going to struggle.