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The abolishment of slavery in the Atlantic is such a fascinating case study. The omniscient perspective that we have now, lets us see how remarkably twisted and delusional the slavery advocates were in that time. In a time period where people were beginning to argue about what it meant to be human and what rights came with life, people were still OK owning another human being. The Founding Fathers wrote “all men are created equal” in a time period where they themselves owned slaves. This chapter was great for showing the different ways people viewed slavery in the Atlantic.
Isaias wrote his blog post about the effect that slavery had on the economy during the time period. The question of slavery’s effect on the economy is a critical one to consider and as sad as it sounds, was possibly the strongest argument the pro-slavery camp had. Slavery at this time was a big business. The actual practice of transporting and selling slaves was not the big money maker. It was the free labor provided by the slaves that had the largest economic impact on the Atlantic. Justice William Mansfield was aware of the impact that freeing thousands of slaves at once would have on the world. He was not in favor of slavery and actually ruled to have Charles Stewart freed of his enslavement. He was, however, aware that while slavery was unethical and difficult to defend, the economy and society were simply not ready for the mass release of 10,000+ slaves in England. This theory was not contained in England alone. It was spread throughout the Atlantic. I believe this fear of economic repercussion is one the main reasons that slavery was eliminated in such a slow, gradual way. Rather than ended the cruel practice immediately, society chose to allow the process to take nearly two centuries in order to protect their economic prosperity.