Why Was Slavery Objectionable?

Why is Slavery Objectionable?

Slavery was extensively widespread in early Europe and the American colonies and was an important factor in the economies of the regions that practiced it. Geographic and social factors also promoted the growth of slavery and further stimulated its spread. Hard labor of the slaves made many slave owners extremely wealthy and bettered the latter's lives as a whole; it also helped to grow local economies. Without the slaves, the lords would not be able to achieve great financial rewards and recognition in their societies. However, with all its benefits for the slave owners and the economy, slavery, in reality, was cruel and offensive towards the African American people and brought much distress and suffering into their lives. Slavery separated families, ruined relationships, devalued human lives and left a black mark in world history.

Slavery is objectionable because it violates the dogma of the Declaration of Independence. Some of the main principals of the document include equality, the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the consent to be governed by an elected government. Enslaved people were left without all the basic rights that Caucasian people took for granted. The Oxford Dictionary defines a slave as "a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them." (oxforddictionaries.com). This paints a gloomy picture of how poorly human beings were treated and exposes the double standards of the supporters of the slave movement. Putting a price on a human life is a horrific act that is both outraging and absolutely unjust. Innocent people were forcefully taken away from their native countries, from their families, from their relatives and friends and put under the harsh conditions that slavery imposed on them, the bondsmen.

The horrific effects and experiences of slavery described in the narratives of both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, who were slaves themselves, give insight into how unjust and inhuman the slaves were treated. Both writers talk about slavery as a cruel and unfair practice that epitomized iniquity. Those who were enslaved were considered private property and did not have the right to move or travel freely. Slavery was also breaking families apart. In many cases, men were taken away from their wives and children from their mothers and sold separately to different land lords overseas. Slaves did not have the right to be protected from cruelty and both physical and emotional abuse. They were left at the will of their masters.

Slavery brought a lot of suffering and unjust treatment upon African American people who were forcefully uprooted from their countries and their families in order to serve evermore greedy and inhumane slave owners. In order to have a society that is moral, healthy and wholesome, the equality of all people has to be the fundamental