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The main idea of this chapter is the abolition of slavery. The author shows that the abolition of slavery was a gradual process. Abolition was fueled by free and enslaved people. For some, their motives in pursuing abolition was religious, while others ethical and/or philosophical. At the same time, those who supported slavery also used religious reasons to justify themselves. Those who wanted to abolish slavery went about it in different ways, some approached it through government, and some through revolution. Surprisingly, not very many of the esteemed Enlightenment philosophers with their ideas of freedom and equality, supported the abolition of slavery. Among elites who profited off of slavery, there was often resistance to abolition, often painting abolition-inspired revolutions as the result of anarchists. Because slavery was so intertwined with the economy, especially in the production of goods like sugar, many European powers were reluctant to wean off of their reliance on slavery. While many supported abolition, racist perspectives still permeated the thinking of many whites. Within the United States, abolition was a process. First the slave trade was outlawed, then certain states abolished slavery, and eventually complete abolition that came with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Classmate Shreshta relates the reading to an image that depicts justifications of slavery, which is entirely appropriate for this chapter. Slavery had roots in the economy as well as a way of life developed over the centuries.
I find the authors arguments to be agreeable. The struggle to end slavery in the Atlantic world were not immediate. Even today, slavery is still a problem in the world. Slavery did have a large impact on the economy, but awareness of it and moral convictions proved to be a greater force than its economic benefits in the end.