How would the United States be without slavery?

     Although currently the United States is against slavery, slavery was very important during the beginning of our country. The Dutch brought captured Africans to North American in 1619. A few years later they began selling the Africans as slaves through auctions in Jamestown. Although Africans were sold as slaves in various areas of the colonies, slaves were more important in the south than the north. The north was heavily forested and more industrial, therefore, slaves mainly worked in homes. However, many northerners released their slaves. When Africans were freed they were able to buy property, but people still looked down on them so they remained a very low class. The south, on the other hand, had wonderful land which they could use to grow raw materials. They grew raw materials such as tobacco and sugar cane, which require mass labor. Thus, they used the slaves to plant and harvest. The slaves harvested the major crops, which raised the south's economy. (It should be noted, though, that although the majority of slaves worked in the fields, many were craftsman or servants.) As a slave, their rights were taken way during the middle of the 1600s when slave codes were created. The slave codes kept slaves from owning weapons, getting an education, going somewhere without their master's permission or giving a testimony in court against a white person. Slaves were viewed as property and could be disciplined in whatever way their master wished.

     Slaves became less important in the late 1700s when the south began planting grain crops. The slave trade might have stopped had Eli Whiney not created the cotton gin. The cotton gin separated cottonseeds from cotton very fast and allowed more cotton to be grown than normal. This excessive amount of cotton, though, required even more slaves to plant and harvest the cotton. Since cotton was a major crop, the south once again became economically dependent on slaves.

     Slavery seems to have greatly affected the United State's early economy. Yet, slavery did not just affect our economy; it has affected our character and our history. The question is, how strong of an effect did they have? What would the United States be like if Africans had never been brought to North America by the Dutch? What would the United States be like if Africans had come and did not work as slaves, but worked for money?

     The North contained land which forced them to be industrial based. The south had great farming land and because they had slaves, they were able to grow mass labor crops, which became their main source of income. What if there were no people around to be enslave, though? The people of the south would be forced to grow their own crops with their own hands. The crops would not be cotton or tobacco. (Without tobacco, people might not do drugs as much as they do now.) Only certain crops would be grown; crops that did not require many field workers since there would only be the whites to grow the crops. With limited crops that would be grown, perhaps colonists would have made more diverse foods. People would have to become creative and make different meals out of the certain foods that they had.

     The economy would most likely not be as strong as with slaves, because cotton, which was important to England, would not be grown in huge quantities, if at all. Because agriculture would not have greatly affected the economy without slaves, it is probable that the north would have helped the south's economy by making industries more important in the south. The south would not have to sell raw materials to England and the United States would have become nationally independent. Industry would become very important in both the north and south which would have, over the years, made the country more technologically advanced over the centuries than we currently are.

     Also, since the slaves would not be around to clear the wilderness, build important canals/railroads/roads, or plant crops, the people of the south would have to do it themselves. To do all of that work, they would have to become more self-motivated.

     Unfortunately for the Africans, the slave ship did arrive in North America. However, what if the colonists had allowed the Africans to work and earn their own money, following their religious beliefs, instead of forcing them into slavery? The Africans still could have worked in the fields, planting and harvesting tobacco and cotton and other crops. This time, though, they would be paid for their services. They would not be property and they could not be disciplined. They would be hired workers. If the south paid them, they would still be dependent on mass labor; they would simply not make as much money as with free labor.

     The colonists were still full of themselves, though. They still would believe they were a little better than Africans because they were "God's chosen people." It is possible that with that mindset they would just seek out some other group to control. They would probably try to control either Indians or women, though; throughout history they did not seem as interested in owning Indians than in making them leave their territory.

     With Africans as paid workers, the women would not have as many rights, especially if white men decided to be dominant over women. It is possible women would never gain the rights that current day women have. Women worked at gaining their rights during the temperance and abolitionist movement. Perhaps the women's rights movement would not have been as effective without Africans fighting along side them.

     If Americans did treat Africans with more equality when they first saw them being sold, there would be less racism whether from the Americans towards the Africans, or the Africans to Americans for treating them nicely. However, it is reasonable that later generations would not be strongly opposed to slavery, having never directly seen the effects of slavery on Africans. The declaration of Independence might not state anything about equality nor would there be amendments against slavery.

     If we did allow Africans to work as immigrants, there would be more religious diversity. As slaves we forced Christianity upon them, affecting their religion. However, they would not be slaves so they would be able to develop their Africans beliefs however they wished.

     There would not have been a civil war if there had been no slavery. At least not for the reasons we know. The states would not be divided by their antislavery and proslavery beliefs. There still could have been a tariff by the North for imported goods; however, bloody Kansas, the killing that started the war, would never have occurred. The United States would have also been able to win the Vietnam War, the war against communism, because we would have had willing Africans as manpower.

     There are many different ways the United States could have responded when they saw the African slaves. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the United States actually did buy Africans as slaves and treat them rather unfairly. Should they have either not had any slaves or if they allowed Africans to work, the United States would be very different. Without slaves, America could have been nationally independent, technologically advance, and self motivated. However, the United States could have been a nation where another group of people were enslaved instead of Africans, where people are not as opposed to slavery, where there is less racism between Africans and Americas, where women do not have rights and cannot become equal to men, where there had never been a Civil War or all the deaths that came with it.

Bibliography

Books:

Nash, Gary B. American Odyssey. Mission Hills: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1997. 164-168.

World Book, Inc. The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Chicago, 1986. 306b-306d.

World Book, Inc. The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 17. Chicago, 1986. 416, 416a.