Slavery's Trail of Tears

"African slave trade was very profitable for everyone involved with the exception of the slaves themselves. It made money for the slave traders responsible for capturing and loading the slaves in Africa, the shipping companies made money, the slave brokers became rich, and owners of slaves made money in the buying and selling of their own slaves and their offspring. Slavery was a part of the economy of the area from the beginning of the colony until the end of the Civil War.

From the late 1700’s records show that there were free blacks living in South Carolina (Schweninger, 1990, 20). By 1860, there were thousands of “free persons of color” living in the state, and hundreds of them owned black slaves. Why did blacks own slaves? How and when did this practice begin?

In 1619, 20 Africans were brought to Virginia as indentured servants to work in the tobacco-growing colony. At the end of their indenture, officials in Virginia decided to enslave some of these people. Some historians believe that one of these slaves became a slaveholder himself (Abrams, 2001, ix). This began the long history of blacks owning other blacks.

There are many factors that led to black slaveholding. One was the desire of free blacks to purchase their family members out of bondage. Until around 1800, it was legal for white slaveowners to manumit their slaves, for whatever reason they wanted. However, in 1800 in South Carolina, the legislature began putting restrictions on the manumission of slaves. Additionally, there were restrictions that required freed slaves to leave the state (Schweninger, 22). Therefore, free blacks would often purchase their relatives in order to allow them to remain in the state.

Owning slaves offered the opportunity for economic advancement for blacks (Schweninger, 22). By the mid 1700’s, black artisans and shopkeepers owned slaves in the city, while free blacks also held slaves on farms in the country. In the city of Charleston, free blacks nearly monopolized the jobs of barbers, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors and dressmakers. They prospered in their entrepreneurial jobs and were able to earn the capital needed to purchase slaves. "


http://www.teachingushistory.org/lessons/BlackSlaveOwnersinCharleston.html

 

"An important fourth and final factor in black slaveholding was the economic profitability of using slaves to work in jobs and businesses owned by “free persons of color.” “In a society that vested the ownership of one many in another, slaves represented another form of property held by free blacks.” (Powers, 1994, 39) Early on in the colony of South Carolina, mulattoes were often trained as artisans and were able to earn the money to purchase slaves by working. They were commercial masters who aligned themselves with the white majority in order to preserve the system of slavery. (Koger, 1985, 30) As this practice progressed, the black slaveholders often had the same incentives as whites to own slaves."

 

Contradiction of a misleading and false narrative does not imply support. Such assertions are made by people who are either very angry or lacks the intelligence necessary to deal with such issues. It could also be nothing more than a passive aggressive attempt at a personal attack.

 

Interesting article on one particular facet of slavery. The move to "king cotton" was ultimately a devastating move for the South.

When the whole agrarian South versus Industrialized North narrative pops up in conversation, I get plenty of strange look when I explain that the North outproduced the South in wheat, corn, barley, and just about every other foodstuff. Well, except maybe okra.

 

Alright, Boy, let's get down to it.What is your purpose in posting this? ...
All white people ought to hate themselves? All blacks are still entitled to 40 acres and a mule (or $40,000 and a SUV)? There ought to be a lottery and the 10 million losing whites should be shipped to Africa as slaves? Monticello, Montpelier, and Mt. Vernon all should be demolished because slaveholders owned them?13 stars should be taken off the upper right portion of the American flag and placed in their own tiny patch in the lower right? When a direct descendant of a slave lives in the same town as the direct descendants of that slave's master [my case], the descendants ought to hauled into the square every Juneteenth and be given 2 dozen lashes? Conviction for playing or singing Dixie should be life without parole?

 

And still others rely on poor portions of history to misrepresent it in order to create a victim and thereby a voting block. Suggesting someone is not rational is a personal attack and uncivil.

 

I don't have to live with it.

Your posts are not civil. His was. Live with it.

You understand such accusations are childish right?

My stance on slavery is it was not as one sided as you would have people to believe and when people like yourself attempt to use things such a slavery as a political tool it belittles the reality of the matter and reduces the gravity of the situation to mere platitudes.

Your seething hatred for southerners is well documented but that is no justification for misrepresenting them. People in the south do not do things your way. Live with it.

 

Umm...I made two, count them two posts showing slavery in this country. Your questions are nothing but a childish back door personal attack. You think your slick but everyone sees your sophomoric attempts at public discourse. You have even got Scarlett pointing out your uncivil attempts at personal attacks.

 

Yes, only where the constitution allows it-- in the punishment for a crime.

Well, he's always busy.

 

Uh I have insulted no one. Not once.

However you have.

 

Slavery was a white institution. Were there misguided blacks who cooperated with it? Of course. But whites mainly profited from the white institution of slavery. To say otherwise is to lie and perpetuate a false narrative.