Slavery
When the Europeans colonised North America, the land was huge, and they had a lack of labor. Since the nation's demand for labor was very high at this time. Many white bond servers were on route to the new nation to help ease the labor requirements, but the numbers were slim. In the early 17th century, a dutch ship came filled with African slaves and solved the labor-deficiency on the large farms. Slavery's original purpose was to assist in the establishment of the new nation. Slaves work was mainly focused on crop that would allow slave owners to acquire currency such as tobacco and cotton. Although due to the variation in weather conditions between the North and South, slaves were undesirable in the North. Although this does not mean that the North did not want slavery. By the end of the American Revolution, the North wasn’t very dependent on slavery, and it was even dying out in the South. But then, a new invention from Eli Whitney, called the cotton gin, played a major role in up coming events. This made it possible for textile mills to use the cotton grown in the South. Cotton became the main cash crop, making the economy dependent on slavery. White people became more and more defensive over slavery, as they were torn between moral and constitutional issues. They argued that slaves were incapable of caring for themselves, and that slavery was helping them by giving them food, clothes, and something to do. Most Northerners doubted the good in slavery. Abolitionist, like Frederick Douglass, wrote heartfelt attacks on slavery. The Underground Railroad was formed to help slaves escape slavery. Slaves were treated in a variety of ways, from mild to cruel. Families were separated as husbands, wives and children were sold. Whipping was a common thing among families. The United States Supreme Court in the 1857 Dred Scott Decision ruled that slaves were subhuman property with no rights of citizenship. They couldn’t legally protest the way they were treated. Pretending illnesses, sabotaging machinery, organizing slowdowns, and running away were common activities of the slaves.