Slavery and the Development of the United States essays

Slavery and the Development of the United States essays "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." This is what Frederick Douglass preached to black Americans during the harsh years of slavery in the US; he believed that blacks needed to fight for their rights. Slavery played an important role in shaping the young nation of America. The "shocking and bloody" practices of slavery slowed the country's development and criticized the morals and values of the American people stated in the Constitution. Slaves had become so tired of their awful conditions that they had begun resisting in several ways. Acts of vandalism, slave revolts, refusal to work and running away on the Underground Railroad were some methods of slave resistance that challenged the development of the United States. In these ways, slaves eventually gained their rights and equality, but with drastic, and lasting effects on the growth of the USA. Although slave revolts in the United States in the 1800s were not very frequent or major, they had significant impacts on whites as well as blacks. One of these revolts was led by Denmark Vesey, a former slave who purchased his freedom with his winnings from a lottery. Vesey planned to burn down Charleston, South Carolina and initiate a revolt of slaves in the area. The plan, however, was betrayed and 35 blacks, including Vesey, were hanged. Afterward, Vesey's example was viewed as "one of the most courageous ever to threaten the racist foundations of America." Another famous rebellion was that of Nat Turner's in Southampton County, Virginia. Claiming religious visions, Turner gathered around 70 slaves and went from plantation to plantation, brutally murdering 55 whites, including men, women, and children. He was eventually hanged along with 80 others. This threw the south into a panic and made slaveholders determined to reinforce the security of the slave system. Revolts challenge d the development of the young, inexperienced United States because they caused conflicts and chaos...

Inspirational Nelson Mandela Quotes

Inspirational Nelson Mandela Quotes We are not anti-white, we are against white supremacy †¦ we have condemned racialism no matter by whom it is professed.Nelson Mandela, defence statement during the Treason Trial, 1961. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another†¦Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address, Pretoria 9 May 1994. We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without and fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address, Pretoria 9 May 1994. Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual. We must construct that people-centred society of freedom in such a manner that it guarantees the political liberties and the human rights of all our citizens.Nelson Mandela, speech at the opening of the South African parliament, Cape Town 25 May 1994. There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find ways in which you yourself have altered.Nelson Mandela, A Long Walk To Freedom, 1994. If we had any hopes or illusions about the National Party before they came into office, we were disabused of them quickly†¦The arbitrary and meaningless tests to decide black form Coloured or Coloured from white often resulted in tragic cases†¦Where one was allowed to live and work could rest on such absurd distinctions as the curl of ones hair or the size of ones lips.Nelson Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom, 1994. †¦the only [other] thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla. In Xhosa, Rolihlahla literally means pulling the branch of a tree, but its colloquial meaning more accurately would be troublemaker.Nelson Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom, 1994. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to see realised. But my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.Nelson Mandela, defence statement during the Rivonia Trial, 1964. Also repeated during the closing of his speech delivered in Cape Town on the day he was released from prison 27 years later, on 11 February 1990.