Abolition of slavery in the United States came quite late, especially when compared to other countries. As embarrassing as it may be for a country that prides itself in providing freedom and liberties to all its citizens, slavery seems like a blatant contradiction to our moral values. However, the reason abolition was put off for so long is mostly based on economic benefits, not racial reasons.
There are a number of problems with slavery. First and foremost there is the moral contradiction. Frederick Douglas, as well as other famous abolitionists, attempted to shed light on this immorality, and attempted to gain empathy of the general population. However, I think his literary works had very little effect, especially on the Southern States. Confederate states did not want to abolish slavery, and it wasn’t simply because they were racists, it was because it was profitable. In general, Southerners didn’t care much for literary works, and the mistreatment and suffering of African Americans, and these pleas had very limited influence there.
In the 1944 controversial book, Capitalism and Slavery, the author, Eric Williams argued that slavery was the engine that propelled Western rise to global economic dominance. Although I didn’t have the time to read the whole book, I took the time to read a few excerpts, as well as a number of responses to the book found on the web. The general consensus seems to be that slavery had a very nominal influence on the economic expansion of European countries, especially in regards to the Industrial Revolution. In Britain, for example, the combined profits of the slave trade added up to only 5% of the national income at the time of the Industrial Revolution.
In addition to Great Britain, many other countries abolished slavery long before the United States. Countries such as Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Russia and many others passed laws banning forced servitude, with the exception of prisoners, centuries before the US did. Why did the United States come late?
The United States was a late comer into the world market, and majority of the American exportable commodities were very labor intensive. In pre-Civil War times over half of the US export earnings were from cotton, production of which predominantly depended on slavery. American settlers tried using Native Americans, but ran into a number of problems, such as disease, and had to find another a cheap source of human labor. Although historically slaves often came from neighboring countries, such as prisoners of war, or their own population such as Russian serfs, with the birth of global commerce, slaves could now be treated as a commodity, and simply imported from Africa.
Putting moral issues aside, if slavery is so profitable, why abolish it? In the case of the United States, abolitionists felt strongly that slavery degraded labor, hindered urbanization and mechanization, slowed industrialization, and stifled overall progress. When the North waged war on slavery, it was not because it had overcome racism; but because Northerners, in increasing numbers, identified their society with progress and viewed slavery as an intolerable obstacle to innovation, free labor, and economic growth. Adam Smith, one of the greatest economists of all time, was quoted saying “”From the experience of all ages and nations, I believe, that the work done by free men comes cheaper in the end than the work performed by slaves. Whatever work he does, beyond what is sufficient to purchase his own maintenance, can be squeezed out of him by violence only, and not by any interest of his own.”
In truth, there are still debates on the degree of importance slavery played in the development of civilizations. Some people may argue that the industrial revolution might have come 2,000 years earlier if we were not to have slaves. Others say that the industrial revolution would have never come, and humans society would never get to where it is today without forced labor. In the end, a truly free market system cannot maintain itself without a well functioning and educated labor force that is directed by wages, not by whips.
Slavery in the United States
Abolition of slavery in the United States came quite late, especially when compared to other countries. As embarrassing as it may be for a country that prides itself in providing freedom and liberties to all its citizens, slavery seems like a blatant contradiction to our moral values. However, the reason abolition was put off for so long is mostly based on economic benefits, not racial reasons.
There are a number of problems with slavery. First and foremost there is the moral contradiction. Frederick Douglas, as well as other famous abolitionists, attempted to shed light on this immorality, and attempted to gain empathy of the general population. However, I think his literary works had very little effect, especially on the Southern States. Confederate states did not want to abolish slavery, and it wasn’t simply because they were racists, it was because it was profitable. In general, Southerners didn’t care much for literary works, and the mistreatment and suffering of African Americans, and these pleas had very limited influence there.
In the 1944 controversial book, Capitalism and Slavery, the author, Eric Williams argued that slavery was the engine that propelled Western rise to global economic dominance. Although I didn’t have the time to read the whole book, I took the time to read a few excerpts, as well as a number of responses to the book found on the web. The general consensus seems to be that slavery had a very nominal influence on the economic expansion of European countries, especially in regards to the Industrial Revolution. In Britain, for example, the combined profits of the slave trade added up to only 5% of the national income at the time of the Industrial Revolution.
In addition to Great Britain, many other countries abolished slavery long before the United States. Countries such as Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Russia and many others passed laws banning forced servitude, with the exception of prisoners, centuries before the US did. Why did the United States come late?
The United States was a late comer into the world market, and majority of the American exportable commodities were very labor intensive. In pre-Civil War times over half of the US export earnings were from cotton, production of which predominantly depended on slavery. American settlers tried using Native Americans, but ran into a number of problems, such as disease, and had to find another a cheap source of human labor. Although historically slaves often came from neighboring countries, such as prisoners of war, or their own population such as Russian serfs, with the birth of global commerce, slaves could now be treated as a commodity, and simply imported from Africa.
Putting moral issues aside, if slavery is so profitable, why abolish it? In the case of the United States, abolitionists felt strongly that slavery degraded labor, hindered urbanization and mechanization, slowed industrialization, and stifled overall progress. When the North waged war on slavery, it was not because it had overcome racism; but because Northerners, in increasing numbers, identified their society with progress and viewed slavery as an intolerable obstacle to innovation, free labor, and economic growth. Adam Smith, one of the greatest economists of all time, was quoted saying “”From the experience of all ages and nations, I believe, that the work done by free men comes cheaper in the end than the work performed by slaves. Whatever work he does, beyond what is sufficient to purchase his own maintenance, can be squeezed out of him by violence only, and not by any interest of his own.”
In truth, there are still debates on the degree of importance slavery played in the development of civilizations. Some people may argue that the industrial revolution might have come 2,000 years earlier if we were not to have slaves. Others say that the industrial revolution would have never come, and humans society would never get to where it is today without forced labor. In the end, a truly free market system cannot maintain itself without a well functioning and educated labor force that is directed by wages, not by whips.