Slavery and the Civil War

  On Monday February 23rd in class we watched a video on the reality of slavery and if it was one of the causes of the American civil war. The north and the south were clearly divided by slaveholding states and free spoiler states. Having slaves and not having slaves wasn't the only thing that separated the north from the south. The Northern states started commercializing with rivers, canals and railroads travel became easy. Not only was it easy to travel but banks began to spring u all over. Trade and transport became a huge part of every day life. Meanwhile in the south they were dominated by plantations. Wealthy plantation owners dominated the southern part of the US. 1793 was a groundbreaking time in the production rate on plantations and the need for slaves. Eli Whitney introduced the cotton gin transforming cotton from a luxury to Americans most commonly used fabric. Because of the mass production of cotton in the south there was a need for a large quantity of cheap labor.

  Slaves worked day and night with barley any food and minimal clothing. Many were beaten by their owners, sometimes for no reason at all. Children got two shirts a year and when those failed them they would go naked. Shelters were cold and wet with minimal protection from any type of weather conditions. This is mind blowing considering that the wealth of southern plantation owners rested on the backs of the slaves. Many men and women were born into slavery and died a slave.

  Fredric Douglass was a slave who believed that if slaves educated themselves there would be no stopping them. He believed in fighting for his freedom. He was able to escape to New York on the underground railroad but his fight did not stop there. He becomes an abolitionist working avidly to abolish slavery for all. 

Fredric Douglass was not the only person working avidly as an abolitionist in the north and the south. Slaves themselves were often executed for their efforts for freedom. Blacks and whites worked hand in hand in the underground railroad. Slavery had become the biggest separating factor between the north and the south. This was a huge reason that pushed for the separation of the state and the union. Some northerns worked avidly to put an end to slavery meanwhile this is what was funding the south; further putting a wedge in between the two.