Improving Race Relations
Written By: Rick Cimino
Slavery in America
How Did Slavery Begin?
Slavery began when European merchants started the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade was when America, Europe, and Africa traded with each other. Africa traded slaves. America traded cotton, and Europe traded guns. Slave Ships were ships that carried slaves. The conditions were terrible, people died and got really sick too. There were a lot of slaves needed in the New World was because they needed people to pick cotton. There was more cotton in the South so the South had more slaves than the North. The Cotton gin affect slavery in the opposite way. Cotton was picked faster, but they needed MORE slaves.
How Were Slaves Treated in America?
Slaves in America were treated poorly. The average day of a slave was: they had to wake up very early, they got no breakfast, they worked until lunch, got no lunch, worked till really late, got 45 minutes of sleep to no sleep at all. Slaves were punished by getting whipped by their master or they got no lunch (or dinner). They were not allowed to go to school or attend church. They were able to marry and have kids though. Slaves were treated like property, they were bought at a auction, kept and treated like PROPERTY! If the slaves were caught running away they were in big trouble. The punishment was being whipped 30-50 times and they would be shackled to a bed for several with little to no food.
How Did Slavery End in America?
It took until 1865 for slavery to be illegal in the United States with the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Lincoln thought that slavery was a horrible idea. To use black people as servants!? He thought that all men and women were created equally and no one would go through slavery ever again (except if it was a punishment). The civil war was to choose if slavery was going to stay or leave because it was the North against the South and the South wanted slavery and the North wanted to end slavery.
Slave Ships
Cotton Gin
Triangular Trade
My Plan
Plan to Improve Slave Relations
The legacy of slavery has contributed to these racial tensions. It is so hard to forget our country's history of supporting slavery. One reason is that we treated them very badly and its hard to forget those scars. Another reason is that we took them from there houses and towns and families to work in our fields. Also, we treated them as property like being bought at an auction or being worth 3/5 of a white person.
The one idea I have to improve race relations in America is to hold a museum. The museum would have what make black people so unique. Like pop culture, kinds of music, things they have built, other cultural things, and their history. The name of the museum would be "The Culture of the Colored". A lot of kids like museums and I bet kids will love to learn about different cultures. Look at the Natural History museum, it's very popular because a lot of kids go there. I would put the museum around washington D.C. because most museums are already around there.