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...