Halsey 1

Lauren Halsey

John Weaver

Us History 1101.502

29 March 2020

Position Paper: Antebellum South

Slavery. A word that conveys different feelings to each person. To one it may be a way of

life. To another, a supported practice. For many Africans, it was their way of life. Slavery started

in America in 1619 but, it did not become popular until the 18th century. At this time, the

demand for slaves grew steeply. Slaves became a crucial part of the South’s economy, especially

in the time leading up to the Civil War. They were the main workforce. Because of this, slavery

became widely accepted. However, slavery is and will always be wrong. It should've been

abolished in the Antebellum South because there are alternative practices, the slaves suffered and

African’s deserved equality.

First, there were alternatives to slavery. On a trip to London’s ports, Thoms Clarkson, an

English abolitionist, discovered African trading vessels loaded with many different goods. There

was tobacco, cotton, gold, ivory and much more. An article discussing Clarkson’s evidence

stated, “there was plenty of opportunity for trade with Africa, other than the trade in human

beings” (Abolition Project 4). Secondly, slaves suffered greatly while traveling to the Americas.

Ships were tightly packed with slaves causing high death rates, low hygiene, and scarce food.

William Wilberforce, a British politician, stated, “so much misery condensed in so little room is

more than the human imagination had ever before conceived” (Wilberforce). This statement

strongly describes the unimaginable life on ships, including the feeling of defeat felt by the

slaves before even reaching the Americas. Lastly, African deserve equality and are, in no way,
 Halsey 2

inferior. Slaves were treated as pieces of property and received little to no freedom all because of

their color. Thomas Phillips, a captain of the Hannibal slave ship, stated, “I cannot imagine why

they should be despised for their color” (Phillips 1). He, like many others, believed the color that

God gave you should not describe you. Africans were being looked down upon because of

something they could not help. Something that whites made a big deal about. Skin color. Despite

all of these negative things about slavery, some still believed it should continue.

Skeptics suggested that, without slavery, America’s economy would collapse. Spotlight:

Market Revolution explains, “America was growing three-quarters of the world's supply of

cotton” (Spotlight 7). This shows that America’s cotton industry was booming in the 1850s.

People feared deleting slaves would disrupt this industry. As a result, they thought our economy

would collapse. However, this is not the case. Slaves could’ve been substituted with free whites.

These whites would not act as slaves but, they could do their job just fine. People who believe

slavery is okay are saying that it is fine for one man to profit off another’s misfortune. This

should not be the case but, with slavery it was.

In conclusion, the Antebellum South should’ve abolished slavery because people deserve

equality, no man should suffer and there were alternatives to slavery. A nation cannot succeed by

dragging down a large portion of it. By not valuing Africans, America was brought down.

Treating somebody terribly because of their skin color should never be accepted. It’s disgraceful

to know that the U.S. was once feeding off African’s misery.
 Halsey 3

Works Cited

Phillips, Thomas. “Captain Thomas Phillips- Of Equal Value.” The Abolition of Slavery

Project, Diane Earl, 13 Mar. 2008, http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/audio79029-abolition.html.

“Spotlight: Market Revolution.” Sinclair eLearn,

https://elearn.sinclair.edu/d2l/le/content/166767/viewContent/5592914/View.

“Thomas Clarkson- Collecting Evidence .” The Abolition of Slavery Project,

abolition.e2bn.org/box_58.html.

Wilberforce, William. “Abolition Speech.” House of Commons, 1789. Speech.