What was wrong with slavery?

Question

Before anyone reports me, this question is not meant to be inflammatory, though some will take it that way. So I do apologize ahead of time. Let me clarify: I am not for slavery, in any shape or form. But why was it so important to illegalize it, rather than legalize it, for everyone? Other than moral objections, of course. I'm just trying to illustrate a point, which I'll get to once a few people answer.

Lucky has had the best answer so far. What I'm saying is, what was wrong with it OTHER than moral objections. It's wrong to own another human being? Why?
I know slavery is wrong, I'm not stupid. I'm not racist, and I would not have been a slave owner in the times it was legal.

One more thing. Why couldn't it have just stayed the state's right to decide? Why was it so important to either legalize it all the way, or illegalize it completely? Also, who was slavery hurting, besides the slaves?

See, the thing that confuses me is that it was okay to illegalize slavery based on morality, and to have the nation united on this issue, but it's not okay when it comes to same-sex marriage. What's the difference? There were some people that had no problem with slavery, and there are some people that have no problem with same-sex marriage. Again, what's the difference?

Answer 1

If you can't make laws based on morals, which many people seem to think is the case, there is nothing wrong with slavery. The fact is that there wouldn't be ANY laws if there were no morals, because who says it's wrong to take drugs? Who says it's wrong to murder? Who says it's to own slaves? Nobody, unless a society is based on virtue and morality.

Answer 2

There are many things that are wrong with slavery aside from moral issues. Slavery was a very integral part of the Southern economy, and fortunately for humanity, its not a very prosperous system. Slavery existed in the South because of the type of economy that developed there, an agricultural based one. The south is sparsely populated yet land owner families possesed vast amounts of land. Thus in the South this should casue a labor shortage. And when there is a labor shortage, laborers can charge more to for their services. This is hardly what plantation owners would want, so the solution to this problem was the usage of slaves. they were cheaper than laborers would be, and could be forced to stay on a plantation creating a stable work force. However my point here is that slavery was used to address a potentially disasterous economic problem, (labor shortage) and in no way is it economically ideal. First, it is extremely inefficient. A slave who must preform forced work for the rest of his life in infinitely less productive then a person who's pay depends on his productivity. Hence this is why slave owners had to use violence to produce results. Also taking care of many slaves all year-round does become expensive and is not ideal.

The north was more densly populated, thus there was no shortage of workers, thus no need for slaves. The ecomony was industrial and due to the inefficiency of slaves and the cost to keep them alive it would have been a poor economic strategy. So this is why it wasn't made legal for everyone.

There were two main reasons as for why it was made illegal for all states. First was the strong abolitionist movement that existed in the north as well as the world. Prominent White (Horace Mann) and Black (Fredrick Douglas) abolitionists make thier voices very well heard to the Lincoln administration dn the ones before him. Slavery was also a public relations problem in the rest of the world. (keep in mind that Uncle Tom's Cabin became the world-wide best selling book at the time and translated to many other languages. When Abraham Lincoln met Stowe after the beginning of the American Civil War, he reportedly called her "the little woman who made this great war.") So the moral issues that slavery violated did have an effect on why Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclaimation. However Lincoln also did this to disrupt the very essence of Southern economy. With the Proclamation slaves ran away in record numbers and with an economy so dependant on slavery, this hurt the confederacy greatly.

Answer 3

Well, I believe the only thing wrong with slavery was the fact that it was not diverse. If slavery started with European people, opposed to Africans, would it have been such a big deal? I know that I have more rights first of all, but I think I am a slave to the Home Depot, who gives me a paycheck. Most often, slaves were given food and shelter for serving their "masters". This was the lowest form of employment and I think it was a major part of our business history. I don't think it was right either, but would it have been more so if the "workforce" was more diversified and appreciated?

Answer 4

As people were moving from an agrarain culture to more industrialized culture, the need for slaves lessened. It soon became demoralized because so many slaves started reading and getting involved in the world around them. They started voicing their opinions, and so empathizers realized that maybe owning people, treating them as property was a bad thing. The slaves had real human feelings and could be taught and civilized. People realized that these slaves were people too.

Answer 5

Apparently nothing, since we are all technically slave owners. We just don't see them because we can import the fruits of that slavery without ever having to face the ugliness of the conditions those products were made in.

As Kennedy said in his first debate with Nixon "In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln said the question was whether this nation could exist half-slave or half-free. In the election of 1960, and with the world around us, the question is whether the world will exist half-slave or half-free, whether it will move in the direction of freedom, in the direction of the road that we are taking, or whether it will move in the direction of slavery."

And we all know what happened to Kennedy after that. Which direction do you think we chose?

Answer 6

Well the trouble was that the white guys should have been the slaves and the Black guys should have been the masters.white people like me are a result of the interbreeding that has taken place over the centuries making us mutts and devoid of pigment.The Black race was the first race on the planet and thus was the purest race.

Answer 7

The answer will come from you, try putting yourself in the position of a slave. Also pay attention to your thoughts and maybe your slavery is within yourself.

Answer 8

Everything. Imagine, being snatched from the USA and everyone and everything that you have ever loved, and being forced to work in a foreign land where you don't speak the language and your beaten everyday and eventually sold to the highest bidder. Yeah. There's something wrong with that.

Answer 9

The birth of industrialization. Abraham Lincoln was the president at the right place at the right time. He got credit for it.

Answer 10

Slavery must rely on treating people as property. Property cannot have rights. You cannot give rights to pigs or cows.

But people are not pigs or cows. People are people. If people are not property, then slavery cannot exist.

Answer 11

no person on this planet is supior to another so why should the have the right to own them and tell them what to do? and just because you were born differently doesn't mean you should be judged by that