The Slavery Dilemna

I. A Brief History of Slavery in North America

A. Introduction of slavery


1. Jamestown—slaves were first sold in Jamestown, Virginia—the first permanent English settlement in North America—in 1619.

2. Two forms of coerced labor—slavery and indentured servitude. Slaves served for entire lifetime, or until such time as their master determined to free them. Indentured servants, on the other hand, served for the life of a contract, at the end of which they were to receive 50 acres of land, a set of tools, and a suit of clothes. For all practical purposes, however, there was little difference between slaves and indentured servants, because they only rarely lived long enough to collect on what they were owed, because of the working conditions on the early tobacco plantations. At this early period, in fact, indentured servants were favored, because their upfront cost was less.

B. Transformation of slavery



1. Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)—Nathaniel Bacon led a rat-tag army of small farmers, indentured servants, and slaves in rebellion against the colonial government, because that government attempted to shut off access to cheap land in the western part of the colony because the disputes this caused with the native peoples living there that was sucking the treasury dry.

2. Aftermath of the Rebellion—the Virginia legislature passed a series of laws during the next decade to differentiate between indentured servants and slaves—things like restrictions on cohabitation between servants and slaves, passing laws restricting the freedom of movement of slaves, Even more importantly, poor whites were required to work on slave patrols; this gave them a sense that they occupied a higher social plane than slaves, and helped persuade non-slave owners to support the slavery system—a wage for their whiteness.

II. Slavery and American Independence

A. Slavery in the Colonies—slavery existed in all of the colonies in the years before the American Revolution—including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and especially New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

1. Adaptability of Slavery—it has long been assumed by historians and other that slavery was suited to plantation culture, but it proved to be extremely adaptable. Slavery prospered in the plantation South, but it proved to be profitable in other environments, as well.

B. Declaration of Independence

1. “…all men are created equal…”
2. “…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”
3. “…among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

C. Spread of Democracy

1. Pennsylvania Constitution (1776)—preceeding the Declaration of Independence, the Pennsylvania Constitution was one of the most democratic documents of its time. As part of its stand on equality of all men, it called for the abolition of slavery.

2. Early years of Revolution—in many of the former colonies of the North, the abolition of slavery took place. By the late 1780s, slavery was abolished in Massachusetts; Connecticut followed suit shortly afterward. Ironically, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania only abolished slavery gradually, and vestiges were around until about 1840.


3. Lord Dunmore—the colonial governor of Virginia. To recruit forces to fight the patriots in that colony, Dunsmore promised to emancipate all slaves who joined his forces.

D. Too Much Democracy?

1. Constitutional Convention—while there was no explicit mention made of slavery or its abolition, the institution was implicitly accepts through the so-called “3/5ths Clause.”

III. The Rise of the Abolitionist Movement

A. Abolitionism Before 1831

1. Pennsylvania Abolition Society—founded by Society of Friends (Quakers); published anti-slavery tracts, sought to use the legal system to end slavery
2. American Colonization Society—established the colony of Monrovia (later Libreria) on the west coast of Africa in 1822, modeled on the British example of Sierra Leone, to “repatriate” slaves.

B. Second Great Awakening—a period of great religious revival that swept throughout much of the US during the 1820s and 1830s. It inspired the start of a number of reform movements with a renewed religious fervor, in order to create a “heaven on earth.”


1. Charles Grandison Finney—charismatic lawyer-turned-intinrent preacher, reacting to the deism of the French Revolution; Finney argued against the Calvinist belief that God had a predestined plan for human being, and that instead humans were “moral free agents” who could obtain salvation through their own efforts—but they had to act immediately, because time was short.


C. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator

1. Grew up in abject poverty in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Apprenticed as a printer, he was converted to abolitionism by the Quaker Benjamin Lundy.

2. Garrison’s brand of abolitionism—was both militant and pacifist, at the same time. For example, he once burned a copy of the Constitution (because it was a slavery document), while also advocating non-violence (despite the violence to himself and his followers that his rhetoric inspired). Argued that the United States needed to undergo a spiritual renewal to remove the stain of slavery.


C. Frederick Douglass

1. Escaped slavery in Baltimore—trained as a shipwright.

2. Living proof of intelligence and eloquence possible of all slaves

3. Acolyte of Garrison—began moving toward a political solution to slavery that Garrison rejected, however.

IV. Northern Reaction to the Growth of Slavery

A. Free Soil Movement

1. War with Mexico—after initial enthusiasm for the war, many in the country began to become increasingly disenchanted with the conflict, which they began to argue mainly benefited slaveholders, anyway.

2. Whig opposition


3. Wilmot Proviso—introduced by heretofore loyal Democrat David Wilmot, it proposed to forbid the introduction of slavery to any area gained from Mexico where it did not previously exist (and since slavery was illegal in Mexico, that was just about everywhere). The vote on this measure delineated a new trend in American politics, as the vote split along sectional lines rather than along party differences