Slavery - History, Amistad: Mutiny On A Slave Ship, Reparations, Contemporary Issues Surrounding Slavery, Further Readings

Slavery - History

At some point in history, slavery has plagued nearly every part of the world. From ancient Greece to the modern Americas, innumerable governments have sanctioned the complete control of certain persons for the benefit of other persons, usually under the guise of social, mercantile, and technological progress. The U.S. legacy of slavery began in the early seventeenth century. However, the stage for…

Slavery - Amistad: Mutiny On A Slave Ship

African slaves occasionally revolted against their masters, and the result was usually severe punishment for the slaves. The mutiny of fifty-four slaves on the Spanish ship Amistad in 1839 proved an exception, however, as the U.S. Supreme Court granted the slaves their freedom and allowed them to return to Africa. Three days into the journey, the slaves mutinied. Led by Sengbe Pieh, known to the S…

Slavery - Reparations

The idea of reparations is rooted in the field order issued by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman as he conquered several Southern states during the last months of the Civil War. Sherman's order authorized the distribution of 40 acres of Southern land to each freed slave and the loan of a government mule to work the land. The promise of "40 acres and a mule" proved illusor…

Slavery - Contemporary Issues Surrounding Slavery

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, much of the debate surrounding slavery related to movements urging the U.S. government to pay reparations to descendants of slaves. Supporters of this movement suggest that cash payments made to these descendants is justified to compensate the victims of slavery for years of hardship, harm, and indignities. Local governments in such cities as Dallas, Chicago, Det…

Slavery - Further Readings

Azmy, Baher. 2002. "Unshackling the Thirteenth Amendment: Modern Slavery and a Reconstructed Civil Rights Agenda. Fordham Law Review 71 (December). Harris, Leslie M. 2003. In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626–1863. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press. Morgan, Edmund S. 2003. American Slavery—American Freedom. New York: Norton. Posner, Eric A., and Adr…

Slavery - Cross-references