Thomas Clarkson Slavery Essay

Thomas Clarkson was an abolitionist and a leading activist against the slave trade and slavery in Britain. Clarkson was born on the 28th of March, 1760 in Cambridgeshire, England. He was the son of a priest, who also worked in a local school. Later, in 1779, Thomas attended Cambridge University, where he won a competition with the subject; whether it was right to enslave men and women and put them against their will. After this event, Thomas was strongly driven to end slavery until the day he died.

Slavery is unarguably repulsive and wrong, Harriet Beecher and Frederick Douglass communicated this profoundly. The abolition movement was initiated in 1800 to end slavery. With all the hate and divisiveness, the abolition movement was one of the causes of the civil war but also put an end to slavery. Even with all the disgust and horrid parts of the movement, people created change like Harriet Beecher and Douglass they both were two of many who contributed to the movement. Harriet being a former advocate for women’s rights moreover a daughter of church leaders and Fedrick Douglass a past slave both were well prepared to lead and inspire people to change or create change.

Slavery had begun before Africans and Native Americans had met White colonists, but as a web article titled Slavery; an American History states1, “Many aboriginal societies had practiced different forms of slavery for thousands of years before they had ever seen Europeans. The practice, however, represented a temporary condition and was used more as a badge of status than a money making enterprise.” Their version of slavery, was not hereditary or based on race. The main cause for slavery was the need for more workers to pick tobacco; a thriving industry in the South, with a need for labour intensive workers. By 1787, 40% of slaves worked in tobacco fields 2.

Before the early 1840s, no one could truly comprehend the horrors and effects of enslavement. To the average southerner, it was a way of life. While in the north, it was more ambiguous in their view. The north’s view began to change when Frederick Douglass began to speak and write about enslavement and his personal experiences. He was one of the first enslaved people who displayed nuanced speech and intellectual thought.

Many individuals, without any given option, were conflicted of multiple hardships through an early stage in their life to late adulthood only for the sake of making money for other’s benefit. Enduring such forced labor proved to be difficult for anyone eating “ash cake” (Online Douglass 68). The end results never took a pleasant appearance due to the fact that many fell ill to such cruelty, or even worse many died before ever having any contact with family. Thus leading a man by the name of Frederick Douglass to apostatize and acquire a mentality, by means of learning how to read and write, that no human is to stand idle against such a barbarous thing as slavery. After a lengthy solo fight for freedom and escaping North, Douglass settles down

In 1774 and 1776 in England the Quakers proposed their reasons for ending slavery such as stating that slavery was cruel, inhumane and unjust, slaves were dehumanized and humiliated and were not regarded as human being but as part of estate stock and that the slaves were not provided with sufficient food, clothing , housing and medical care which often led to deaths due to diseases. Their proposals were disregarded because the slave trade had become a necessity to every nation in Europe allowing them to continue making great profits.

The secondary source is from abolition.nypl.org. This website has many different credible text and articles about slavery and the abolition movement. The Abolition in the Slave Trade articles goes into how the abolition movement became one of the most reformed movements in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The British was one of the most dominating country to enter the Atlantic slave trade system. The British carried more slaves into the new world and other countries.

It was 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia to the North American Colony. African Americans aided with the economic growth foundations of the new nation. Slavery played an important role in the South’s economy because it technology was improved, so there was a demand for slave labor. Most slaves worked on plantations like tobacco, rice etc. they had no rights under the law.

The story of Frederick Douglass’ is one of the most gruesome stories ever written in American literary history. The narrative goes in-depth about how the process of slavery was. It talks about how people would get whipped for the smallest of issues, dying if they resist enough, and even the process of the slave trade. It even shows how people become very different after the entire system of slavery gets into their minds. Through his powerful narrative, Frederick Douglass demonstrates how slavery dehumanizes not only the enslaved but also the enslaver, as it strips individuals of their basic humanity and perpetuates a system of cruelty and oppression.

Colonists began to build a settlement in North America after gaining their independence from Great Britain. Slavery in North America began when African slaves were brought to Jamestown in order to aid in the production of crops that would later fuel the economic establishment of North America. The African Slave trade gained prominence in the seventeenth century when African American slaves began to replace the bulk of indentured servants. Eventually slaves and their decedents made up majority of the population in some states. In fact, “New World plantation agriculture came to depend on the labor of enslaved workers…”

Long before Martin Luther King Jr. stood before the American people and gave his powerful “I Have A Dream” speech, slaves braved the consequences of racism in the United States for over a century. Slaves underwent tremendous hardships, most of the time with no opportunity for escape. However, Frederick Douglass, a man born into slavery displayed courage, intelligence and racial pride throughout his life to eventually escape the nightmare that was slavery. Douglass used an extraordinary amount of courage to administrate and successfully carry out his escape. His aptitude and leadership abilities also greatly impacted the abolitionist movements of his time.

In the Americas, the main exports were silver and cash crops, both of which required work that was terribly tedious and exhausting. This led to the overwhelming predominance of slavery in the Americas, since the Europeans were not willing to carry out the hard work themselves. When the Europeans found they lacked a workforce, the sought slaves elsewhere. While the people who were called slaves changed, the institution never did. The same mistreatment, torture, and horrible conditions were evident in American slavery until it was abolished centuries later.

imparticularly in the Atlantic slave trade in the 1500s-1700s (“Chronology” 483). Slavery was not only a problem in the ancient times, but also continued to worsen over time. Slavery began to become more of a problem as time ran on. While many protection acts were implemented, they were ignored and the problem continued to rapidly expand. In 1833 Britain formed laws banning slavery, while France joined in on the act to protect its victims (“Chronology” 483).

For its nearly 90-year long span, slavery was the sole root of nearly all black pain and trauma, still having effects on our world 157 years after it was outlawed. It was cruel and while freedom was attainable for some, it was a road that could lead to death. Frederick Douglass, a Baltimore-born black man who was a slave from birth, up until his escape from the U.S. in 1838 and subsequent legal freedom in 1846, was a key figure at this time. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass documents Douglass’ experience and escape from the south. While free, he was surrounded by a world that saw slavery as a necessity.

In 1830, the National Negro Convention in Philadelphia advocated for freed slaves to be offered more protection in the nation. Additionally, the publication of the Liberator a year later encouraged more people to challenge existing conditions and advocate for freedom. Likewise, the establishment of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 and the decision by Britain to outlaw slavery in all its colonies were important events. Afterwards, more legal activities were taken to abolish the practice in various parts of the country which drew the attention of various interest groups (Drescher 51). The nature of slavery violated people’s rights in various parts of the country and this acted as a catalyst to the abolition movement.