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All Men Are Created Equal Dbq

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“All men are created equal”, though this would be a fact of the Western World society today, it was certainly not always that way. With the beginning of slavery in the 1600s, to becoming the main cause of the Civil War and abolishment of it, here is slavery; from the Union’s point of view.

The earliest form of slavery in North America can be traced back to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. There, they were called the “Twenty and Odd” and considered servants rather than slaves. Though little is known about this infamous event, this ‘trade’ continued of capturing Africans from Africa and bringing them to the colonies of Britain. The usage of slaves increased and were often used as field laborers on plantations, house workers, blacksmiths …show more content…

This angered the Union, consequently making the issue bigger. Those in the North who had never seen a slave and didn’t particularly care about the topic, educated themselves more because of such tension over whether the Confederates were allowed to even leave or not. Many got their arguments in order; slaveholding was regressive when compared to the advances the North was making. Essentially, slavery was inefficient and made little sense. Another argument was that slavery was a sin; this view would be the reason why many joined the Civil War. Though it was overall agreeable for Northerners during the Civil War that slavery was an immoral practice. It degraded humans to animals that could be bought and sold for a price, it tore families apart, forced people, even children, to work all day and whenever called upon while living in poor conditions. But perhaps the most important bit to this argument, was that in the Declaration of Independence, it was clearly written, “all men are created equal”. If all men are equal, then why did the white man own the black man? When did the very piece of paper that gave America a meaning to patriotism suddenly become irrelevant when talking about the issues that made us a free country? Ignorance is bliss, but at this time in history, it was bliss no …show more content…

They had more supplies, better outfits and an efficient way to make weapons compared to the South. By the end of the war, there were roughly 198,000 African Americans in the Civil War. This was a controversy for not only some of the Union who refused to fight alongside an African American, but also for the South who would see them in combat. There were disputes among both sides over the Union taking slaves from the South and ultimately rescuing them. Though the North claimed it was legal, considering slaves were ‘property’ and both sides were allowed to raid and confiscate property from each other. This was particular accomplishment on the Union’s half, for it took the Confederate’s words and used them against them.

The Union won the war and slavery was officially abolished with the thirteenth amendment in 1865. This great accomplishment brought America one step closer to equality, though there is still work to be done today in the Western World. Though this resolution leaves the future bright for all places in the

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