The Silence Essays - Americas, Racism, Slavery In The United States

Federman 8/20/17 The Silence: The actions, or lack thereof, made by the Congress in the 1790s altered history for hundreds of years after the events. The Constitution had been ratified by the former 13 colonies to create a more established federal government than the Articles of Confederation. During the first meetings, two Quaker delegations proposed petitions calling for an end to the African slave trade. This was stunning and considered an embarrassing intrusion, especially by the Southern Delegations.However , this action caused a new wave of debate and infighting in Congress. One side is the Northern abolitionists who are already phasing out slavery without federal intervention. The other side is the South, where slavery is an integral part of their economy, and would take a hit if slavery were abolished. However, talks were pushed back by James Madison and the chance to end slavery in that era ended. Joseph Ellis is correct in that Congress' delaying of the abolition of slavery was a legisl ative failure and showed the rising differences in the North vs. the South that continue to this day. Body Paragraph 1: The North had already begun their own abolition of slavery, and were ready to make it on a nation al level, showing an extreme difference of belief between the two. Ben Franklin signed onto petition, legitimizing it and causing it to be debated. States like Vermont and New Hampshire had already banned slavery. Declaration of Independence \"unambiguous tract for abolition.\" (89). Analysis: The North held extremely different viewpoints than the South, which would lead to a lack of compromise and the delaying of the abolition of slavery. Body Paragraph 2: The South was not interested in abolishing slavery, for it was too important to their economy. \"South Carolina and Georgia cannot do without slaves.\" (92). Racist reasons: \"if they did intermarry with the whites, then the whites would be extinct.\" (100). Says that they can't abolish slavery until 1808. Analysis: This shows how much slaves were important to them economically, and the extreme division in viewpoints between the North and South. Body Paragraph 3: The government's failure in responding to this issue caused the freeing of the slaves to be delayed 70 years. \"the inability to take decisive action against slavery in the decades immediately following the Revolution permitted the size of the enslaved population to grow exponentially and the legal and political institutions of the developing US government to become entwined in compromises with slavery's persistence\" (88). \"The census of 1790 revealed that the window of opportunity to end slavery was opening, not closing.\" (104). The South threatened disunion, and James Madison, who's beliefs unknown, took slavery off the national agenda to avoid the collapse of the nation. Analysis: The stubbornness of the South led to slavery being taken off the table, shutting the opportunity for slavery to end for decades. Works Cited: Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. New York, Vintage Books, 2002. \"I pledge my honor that I have not collaborated with any other students and have completed this assignment in accordance with my teacher's instructions and the Upper School Honor Code.\"