text| History Sayings Baijia
Edit| History Sayings Baijia
Preface
1619, a year worth remembering in American history, a Dutch merchant ship transported 20 black men from the West Indies to Virginia and sold them as slaves, which also laid the foundation for the American colonial slave society.
In the 17th century, slavery progress was not too fast in some parts of the United States, and at this stage about 25,000 slaves were taken to the colonies.
slave owners in the south will let them grow tobacco and rice fields, while some black women will be called maids. In , the black people in the north will take on some jobs as coachman and housekeeper.
But starting in the 18th century, slavery increased rapidly until the 1790 census, which surprised most experts that, except for Massachusetts and Maine , there were 679,679 slaves in every state and territory in the United States.
With the widespread development of all walks of life in the colonies, slavery has gradually subsided in the north, and slaves are exclusively for use in the south.
1. Reasons for the rapid development of slavery
There are several reasons for this transformation: First of all, the colonies in the north were settled by people from the lower and middle classes, who were accustomed to working for themselves, and slaves were of no use to them, while the south was settled mainly by adventurers, who had never worked, and believed that labor was done by the lower class.
Secondly, the north has a mild climate, and anyone can work safely, while the south is hot and white people cannot tolerate high-intensity work, working in such an environment can be life-threatening, while black people can adapt because of their origins.
Another reason is the difference in soil. The soil in the south is conducive to the growth of cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar. The cultivation of these crops requires a large, organized and concentrated labor force, which needs slaves to provide.
On the other hand, the soil in the north is conducive to the cultivation of grains, which requires neither organized labor nor concentrated labor.
Therefore, slave labor is of little benefit or no benefit to the North. The north is not as fertile as the south, and planting requires a lot of skills and knowledge, while slave laborers do not have time to learn .
By the end of the 18th century, except for New Jersey , every state in the northern part of Maryland stipulated the immediate or gradual abolition of slavery. In 1793, the emergence of the cotton industry was accelerated by the invention of the cotton gin.
1860 There were about 384,750 plantation owners in the south, and they owned 2308,518 slaves.
Although the owner formulated the rules for the plantation, he was often absent, and the execution of the rules and the strictness of labor depended on the supervisor, the executor did not choose to consider the feelings of the slave. They are usually ignorant and grumpy, and these people usually work black people to the limit to ensure the maximum workforce.
Given these facts, it is easy to understand how slaves were abused. The cruelty of the supervisors cannot be entirely attributed to them, because they can only guarantee work if the owner is satisfied, and the owner will judge their efficiency based on the good behavior of the slaves, the overall condition of the plantation, and the scale and quality.
Calhoun once said: Because he showed too much interest in the size of the crop, the owner unknowingly encouraged the supervisor's cruel behavior.
Rhodes said in his American history books that the images of slaves showing sadness and fear are difficult to depict, working hard from morning to night, working on an average of fifteen hours a day, while they need to work 16 hours a day during the picking season of cotton plantations and 18 hours a day during the grinding season of sugar cane plantations.
2. Family slavery
The family life of the slave is managed by the planter. In return for the service of the slave, the planter will provide him with food, clothes, shelter and all daily necessities.
This part of slave life is very sad. A slave, his wife and their children, surround a family dining table. The owner agreed that the slaves would sell their children to slavery when they got married, and children from black families ranged from fifteen to twenty-five.
A man in Virginia said he was lucky because his black slave was a very good breeder; he did not think that women everywhere reproduced faster than him; he had never heard of babies born faster than the babies he had bred in the plantation;
According to his estimate, each child is worth $200, and many white people would buy black women, and they were not interested in this person, but the benefits she brought to themselves.
This forced childbirth naturally shattered the maternal instinct of black women. One month after the child was born, he was taken to a nursery and was taken care of by a servant until it was sold, while the mother worked in the field, so there was usually no love between mother and son.
The example of a slave mother illustrates this very well. When she was asked about her feelings about leaving her child at the end of her life, she replied:
"Oh, madam, you will take care of them, I don't care about them."
Tell me truthfully . The most terrifying thing about slavery is the lack of family life in blacks.
Black people live in huts near large houses, which are usually wooden houses, wooden floors and good chimneys, which are generally comfortable, but they all appear messy due to dirty and lazy.
Little black people usually wear only one over-the-knee shirt, while adult black people receive two pairs of shoes, a new set of clothes and a hat every year.
Their food and clothing vary from owner to owner and are usually made of cornmeal, bacon and molasses, while in some plantations they can eat wheat flour, seasonal vegetables, and even chicken.
slaves want to be educated, which upsets the planters, North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana passed laws prohibiting slaves from reading or writing, although North Carolina slaves can learn arithmetic .
It is said that if they are educated, they will read the repeal file and feel dissatisfied, thus creating a sense of resistance.
On the other hand, some planters argue that they should be taught to read so that they can understand the Bible.
But the final conclusion is: most black people are illiterate.
The Southerners have very pious and orthodox beliefs, and they usually baptize their slaves, teach them catechism, and then let them be proven. But their favorite sentence is still: "The servant obeys your master in everything."
Plantation owners have a unified perception: they believe that black people are naturally inferior to white people, because they have always been barbarians, so they cannot enjoy the pursuit of intellectuals.
summary
The climate in the north is mild, with sea breeze and altitude. Whites can cultivate land, and the south is hot. Whites cannot go to the fields to work and supply a large amount of food. Necessary for black people.
As Harper said: "The products of slave labor provide more than two-thirds of our commercial materials for transportation and exchange; therefore the prosperity of these countries, as well as the civilization of their cities, was largely created by the existence of slavery."
In addition, slavery liberated the planters from manual labor, giving him more time to cultivate his own ideas, thus allowing the planters in the south to be highly educated, cultured, and educated.
In the minds of planters, slavery is the "defense of human civilization."However, economics students see this as an evil that must be eliminated.
