Thoughts on American Government

I have recently been reviewing and rereading my notes and book for my American Government class at Brigham Young University. I have come a cross a theme from our notes, I have noticed that the awful institution of slavery is a part of our discussion on a recurring basis. Before taking this class I thought I knew about slavery and the horrible practices that went along with it but this class and our discussions on the topic have truly been eye-opening.

During our first discussion as a class we learned about ancient slavery. Slavery was the basis for ancient civilizations and their society. Slavery was ubiquitous, that is, every known civilization was involved in slavery in one way or another. Slavery was a necessity for ancient society. If we think to one of the earliest great societies, the Egyptians, our thoughts are often drawn to the pyramids. These truly magnificent structures were made practical by the appalling use of slavery. The Pharaoh’s and other leaders of ancient world were only able to construct the pyramids and many of the other wonders of the world through slavery. They could not possible afford to pay thousands of men for twenty or more years to work on such structures. No man could possible afford such a thing.

We then entered a discussion concerning the differences between modern slavery and ancient slavery. The difference is simple; there was no racism in the institutions of ancient slavery. Slaves were simply accumulated through the winning of wars and the paying of debts. Once you were enslaved in the ancient world your children were often set free. There were many types of slaves. Blacks were no the only ones who were enslaved in the ancient world, all manner of men were enslaved. Modern slavery is much more horrendous because it was exclusively based on race. I am not saying that ancient slavery was good or even acceptable, but relatively speaking was much better that the modern slavery that plagued the American continent for over 100 years. We were presented by some horrendous numbers, it is estimated that in the time the slave trade existed over 14 million Africans were enslaved. It is estimated that 1.8 million slaves died in Africa before they reached the salve ships. Another 1.8 million are estimated to have died on the journey across the Atlantic. Finally, over 1.5 million are estimated to have died within the first year on enslavement due to unspeakable conditions and disease. Dr. Holzapfel spoke of three themes of modern slavery, violence, terror, and death. It is hard to imagine the awful conditions that slaves endured not only on the middle passage but while in America, the lived in constant fear of the unknown. They were constantly subject to abuse and rape.

We then jump ahead to the late 18^th century during the time of the revolution. Many slaves and abolitionists saw the revolution as an opportunity for freedom. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” This however did not apply to slaves according to the founding fathers. By this time slavery had become an American tradition, it was deeply entrenched in American society. It was also the basis for the economy of the southern states. During the War for Independence many African Americans fought on both sides of the war. The British promised freedom to any slave that fought on their side, as did the Americans. Over 5,000 slaves gained freedom from the Americans. More gained freedom from the British. After the war the Constitution again contained rhetoric that was confusing, the preamble states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This once again sounds like it promotes equality for all but this once again was no the case. The Virginia Plan for the constitution did contain words that would end slavery, but once again the southern economies depended so much on slavery that they threatened to succeed from the union. As we know slavery was not officially abolished until the Civil War.

Slavery within the United States constitutes a large shameful part of our history. It is unfortunate that the founding fathers were not willing to take steps to end the practice. This would have indeed saved thousands of lives, if not millions.