'''Slavery''' was is a legal economic system with of involuntary servitude, such that the people held as exists in bondage must work for their owner[[socialist]] [[gulag]]s, re-education camps, [[grooming gang]]s and can be bought other forms of involuntary labor, [[prostitution]] and sold (see '''human trafficking'''. In contemporary [[slave tradeMarxist]]societies that still practice slavery, the subjects have limited or no [[Rights]]. While [[liberal]]s claim or suggest that slavery in the U.S. was unusual, slavery is common and predominant in the vast majority of the world and throughout history.<ref>Williams, Walter E. (May 29, 2019).[https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/32464-slavery-is-neither-strange-nor-peculiar Slavery Is Neither Strange Nor Peculiar]. ''The New American''. Retrieved May 29, 2019.</ref>
Legally, the slave had limited rightsThere are several different types of slavery which have been known to history. For exampleDebt slavery, it was a crime in the American South war trophies, and racial or cultural prejudice have all been used to kill or maim a justify slave, except in self-defensesystems.
In the American South, slavery normally was Slavery became a lifetime condition, and children born legal form of debt payment prior to [[bankruptcy]] laws for people incapable of managing their financial affairs. Not all Master-slave mothers automatically became relationships were abusive - some slaves willingly served a fair master for life who provided sustenance and protection. Slaves could be bought and sold (see [[slave trade]]). The [[Year of Jubilee]] was instituted by God for His own nation in order to prevent slavery from becoming a means by which cleverly unscrupulous, or cleverly ignorant, people made a living, such as happened in the ownerAmerican South.
In human history, slavery originated when Historically people were captured in warfare. Secondarilywere, slavery resulted when and in some able-bodied people became so poor through debts that some wealthy people claimed them as property at least until they worked off their debts. The [[Year of Jubilee]] was instituted by God for His own nation in order to prevent slavery from becoming a means by which cleverly unscrupuloussocieties still are, or cleverly ignorant, people made a living, such as happened in the American Southconsidered slaves.
In America , the vast majority of slaves were African blacks, and many of these had been bought from African tribal leaders; Indians Native Americans starved themselves to death rather than live as slaves. From 1500 to 1820, hundreds of thousands of Europeans were captured in war by Muslims and made slaves.
Western Christendom abolished slavery during in the 19th century; it still exists in many leftwing Marxist countries and under [[Koran]]ic law in [[Islam]]. The last forms of legal slavery were outlawed in 1970 in the Arabian countries, but hidden slavery still exists today in remote parts of Africa such as forced prostitution and other industries all over the [[Sudan]] where Arabs own black slaves. In Mauritania, dark-skinned people own lighter-skinned slavesworld.<ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9605/articles/gregory.html African Slavery 1996]</ref>
Slavery was found in the history of most civilizations. Slavery flourishes where there is a high demand for labor and not enough workers. When the workers are plentiful, slavery dies out because it is unprofitable. That is, it becomes cheaper to free a slave and hire low cost paid labor than to buy and maintain slaves. Typically, when it had almost died out, it was made illegal by the government, as in Brazil.
The One of the most famous instance instances of slavery was in the [[The South|American South]] , which was based on racial origin rather than debt payment until it was forcibly ended during the [[American Civil War]] (1861–65) – the only major war in world history fought over slavery. ==Economics==The two main forms of slavery are house servants (in which slaves are luxury items owned by the rich), and field work, in which slaves are used as a cheap labor force. If free labor is cheaper than expensive slaves, slavery will disappear. If there is a shortage of laborers (and an abundance of work to do), slavery becomes economically possible. It is especially profitable in new lands with few people and rich soils or mines that require imported labor. Slavery tended to die out in cities and flourished only in rural areas. In the cities rich families owned many slaves as a luxury good guaranteeing good servants. Otherwise, slaves in cities were more expensive to maintain than free labor, which could be hired and fired as needed. Slave labor was profitable for farms, mines, and construction jobs; it was not profitable for factories.
==History==
Greek civilization was utterly dependent on slave labor. Three-fourths of Athens were slaves. (Athens was the city the Apostle Paul described as "given to idolatry" in Acts 17:16.)
In Greek and Roman society, human beings were seen as having no intrinsic value. They had value only as citizens of the state, and only a minority of people qualified as such. Those who had no value included the infirm, the poor, the lower classes, prisoners of war, slaves, artisans and manual workers. Noncitizens were defined as having no purpose and hence unworthy to be helped when their lives were at risk. This meant they were not considered worthy to receive physical protection or even food.<ref>Alvin Schmidt, Under the Influence, How Christianity Transformed Civilization, p. 130</ref> The Greek philopher philosopher Aristotle wrote, "a slave is a living took, just as a tool is an inanimate slave."<ref>Nichomadean Ethics 8:11, quoted in Schmidt, p. 274</ref>
In Roman society, "domestic slaves did every conceivable kind of work for their masters. Among them were eunuchs to attend to the women and cripples to "amuse" guests with their deformities. A rich man needed at least two slaves to carry him to the circus, but eight to ten usually went along for show. When a man walked at night, he had to have a train of slaves bearing torches to light and protect him on his way. Domestic slaves of the wealthy were many that they were organized like armies into specialized battalions. The more powerful Romans acquired staffs of better than a thousand slaves. One man, C. Caelius Isidorus, left 4,116 slaves when he died. The emperors, whose wealth outstripped all, boasted slave "families" of 20,000 or more<ref>Meltzer, p. 138</ref>
Under Roman law, slaves had no rights. They were considered property, not persons. They could not own or inherit property. They were not permitted to legally marry, so all their children were considered illegitimate.<ref>Meltzer, p. 144 & 176</ref>
Often prisoners of wars in ancient history were used as slaves, particularly during the [[Roman Empire]]. Historians debate how extensive slavery was in the Roman Empire—estimates go as high as 25% of the population.<ref>[httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml BBC - History - Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome]</ref> [[Christianity]] helped lessen the harshness by which Romans treated slaves. The Roman jurist Ulpian wrote, "As far as Roman law is concerned, slaves are regarded as nothing."<ref>Meltzer, p. 178</ref>
Other means by which ancient peoples went into slavery were inability to pay debts, being sold by their parents for the same reason, being born to slave parents, and being kidnapped by slave raiders or pirates.
The name "[[Slavs|slav]]" which forms a part of the name of many European people groups (As in [[Slavic]]) is derived from the word "slave." <ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter1.shtml The Roots of Slavery]</ref> According to the [[Domesday Book]] census in 1086 AD, 10% of England's population was enslaved.<ref>[http://www.domesdaybook.net/helpfiles/hs2970.htm Domesday Book Slave]</ref>
==== Slavery in the Bible. Slavery in atheistic societies Biblical references ====
''See also:'' [[Slavery in the Bible]] and [[Atheism and slavery]]
The Bible refers to unsaved or non-Christian individuals as "slaves of [[sin]]" (Romans 6:20). Jesus said, "I am the truth" (John 14:6) and "the truth shall set you free" (John 8:31-32). All sinners are slaves, unable to make choices for themselves in their own best interests, or guide their own lives and ultimate destiny. [[Atheism|Atheist]] apologists often bring up the subject of [[slavery in the Bible]] in terms of the Israelites and some early Christians owning slaves. However, they rarely if ever, bring up the subject of slavery and forced labor in atheistic societies (see: [[Atheism and slavery]]). ====Marxist slavery====:''See:'' [[Marxism]], [[Soviet Union]], [[Gulag]] and [[Atheism and slavery]]In a [[socialist]] or [[progressive]] society, the rights of the individual are subordinated to the [[collective]] rights of the state in theory, however "the state" in Marxist theory refers to a criminal gang and corrupt [[political party]] of elites.
{{Clear}}
Jesus dignified labor by working as a carpenter. He took the form of a servant. He washed the disciples' feet. He commanded us to love our neighbors and do good to our enemies. He had a habit of calling people back to the beginning of things, and in the beginning God created people free. Christianity promoted the equality of its members, accepting slave and slavemaster as equal brothers and sisters serving side by side in the church (Galatians 3:28). Christianity, like Judaism before it, taught that God gave humankind the dignity to choose for ourselves. That is possible only in liberty and not in slavery. These influences worked quietly at first, for Christians were not a world power or even a majority. Most had no political power, and they lived in a totalitarian system. Yet because of the Christian emphasis on love and mercy, slavery was soon rid of most of its extreme features of cruelty. In early Christian writings, there was an emphasis on being free in spirit to serve Christ even if one's station in life was as a slave. Ambrose wrote that the slave "might be superior in character to his master and might be more truly free" (LaTourette, p. 622).
However, in the second and third centuries after Christ, as wealthy Romans began to be converted to ChristiantiyChristianity, tens of thousands of slaves were freed by converts. Melania freed 8,000, Ovidus 5,000, Chromatius 1400, Hermes 1200.<ref>Shmidt, p. 274, from W.E. H. Lecky, History of European Morals, 1911</ref> Converted out of a decadent, totally self-absorbed society, many Christians sold their goods and lands and used the proceeds to help the poor, support hospitals, take in orphans, free prisoners, and free slaves. Liberation was frequent, especially on Easter and other special days of the church. Church law from the early centuries allowed for liberation (called manumission) of slaves during church services.<ref>CAnnon Cannon LIIIV, The African Code CAnons, aslo also called the Canons of he the Fathers , Assembled at Carthage, 419 A.D.</ref><ref>The Canons of the Council in Tuillo (also called the Quinisext Council, 692 A.D..</ref> Freeing slaves took great conviction and courage, for the Roman emperors issued edicts unfavorable to the practice. Clement said in his Epistle to the Corinthians no 55, "Some Christians surrendered their own freedom to liberate others."<ref>Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book III, Chapter IV</ref>
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) led many clergy under his authority in N Africa to free their slaves "as an act of [[piety]]".<ref>Augustine, "Of the Work of Monks", p. 25, Vol. 3, Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers</ref> He boldly wrote a letter to the emperor urging a new law against slave traders, and showed great concern about the slave of children.<ref>The Saints, p. 72</ref> He saw slavery as a product of sin and as contrary to God's plan, writing that God "did not intend that this rational creature, who was made in His image, should have dominion man over man, but man over the beasts.<ref>Augustine, The City of God, chapter 15, p. 411, Vol. II, Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers</ref>
Likewise , Chrysostom, a fourth -century church leader, wrote that Christ annulled slavery and admonished Christians to buy slaves, teach them a skill by which to make a living, and set them free. The act of Christians freeing slaves was so common in his day that he wrote that many outside the church complained that Christianity was subverting the system, causing masters to have their slaves taken from them.
Ambrose, a church leader about the same time, redeemed all the slaves he could.<ref>Ambrose, Duties of the Christian Clergy, p. 54</ref>
=== Christian roots of abolitionist movement ===
''See also:'' [[Abolitionism]]
[[Image:Thomassowell.jpg|thumbnail|150px|right|[[Thomas Sowell]] ]]
[[William Wilberforce]] was a devout [[Christianity|Christian]], philanthropist,[[abolitionist]], and the leader of the campaign against the [[Slave Trade]].
[[Thomas Sowell]] wrote:
{{cquote|While slavery was common to all civilizations, as well as to peoples considered uncivilized, only one civilization developed a moral revulsion against it, very late in hits history…not even the leading moralists in other civilizations rejected slavery at all…. Moreover, within [[Western civilization]], the principle impetus for the abolition of slavery came first from very [[conservative]] religious activists – people who would today be called ‘the religious right.’…this story is not ‘[[politically correct]]’ in today’s terms. Hence it is ignored, as if it never happened.”<ref>Sowell, Thomas (2005) The real history of slavery. In Black Rednecks and White Liberals. San Francisco, CA: Encounter Books</ref>}}
===Medieval Europe===
== The Islamic Trans-Sahara Slave Trade ==
{{See also|Arab slave trade}}
Slavery was rapidly declining in Europe due to the influence of Christianity, and had all but disappeared from much of Europe when the advent of Islam brought a rebirth of the slave trade.<ref>L W Miller, Anti-Slavery Activism 101, ECM Publ, 2011</ref>
Islam has always expanded primarily though through making war (declaring jihad) on its neighbors and forcing people to convert, be executed, or live in slavery in a subservient status to Islam. The demand for slaves was largely created by wealthy Islamic rulers who required salve women for the large harems to which they were accustomed, as well as soldiers and servants. The trade began in 652 A.D. when Abdallah Ben Said, King of Islamized Egypt, waged jihad on the Sudan, conquered it and imposed on the Sudanic King Khalidurat the treaty called Bakht. The treaty required an annual supply of hundreds of slaves to Said.<ref name="universityworldnews.com">http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120413180645205 University World News, ''Scholars Focus on Arab Trans-Saharan Slave Trade''</ref> The slave trade lasted for thirteen centuries.<ref>Duke, Selwyn (November 7, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/33969-black-muslim-academic-islamic-slavery-devastating-and-ignored Black Muslim Academic: Islamic Slavery Devastating — and Ignored]. ''The New American''. Retrieved November 7, 2019.</ref>
Islam partnered with African kings who were already involved in enslaving captured populations. Long trains of slaves were sent across the Saharan Desert with slaves marching on foot. Islam dominated the African slave trade from the 7th to the 15th centuries, and continued on a smaller basis long after that. It has never stopped in some Muslim lands.
== The Transatlantic Slave Trade ==
[[Image:Inspecting New Arrivals by Giulio Rosati 2.jpg|right|thumb|350px|New female arrivals at a slave market, by Giulio Rosati]]
===1492-1865===
In 1455, a "papal bull" (formal letter by the [[pope]]) justified a right of Christian nations to enslave any non-Christian in the name of exploration. The Spanish had already been enslaving South American natives on a limited basis, but with the rise of sugar plantations , the need for a larger slave force arose. 12 Twelve million of African slaves were brought by the Europeans to [[Mexico]], [[Peru]], the [[Caribbean]] and [[Brazil]]. The demand for sugar was exploding throughout the entire western world. Soon France, the Netherlands and Britain were also establishing profitable sugar plantations in the new world. The plantation system began in Brazil, where rich white [[plantation]] owners were the highest rung in the social hierarchy and black slaves were at the bottom. Obviously , life on a sugar plantation was very hard work for a slave; most died in less than 10 years, and had to be replaced.
European traders encouraged Africans to trade slaves with them. The [[Trans-Atlantic slave trade]] became a booming business for Europeans and Africans alike, in which African rulers sold prisoners of war and even their people to Europeans for goods such as iron, alcohol, tobacco and most importantly, guns. Trans-Atlantic trade led to the degrading use of "chattel" slaves, whereby the slaves were treated purely as property of the owner, much as slaves had been considered in ancient Greece and Rome. The slaves served as sailors, skilled craftsmen or farmers. The journey across the Atlantic, known as the Middle Passage, led to the death of 10-20% of the African slaves. But an even higher percentage lost their lives in the journey from their homes in Africa to the African coast, where they were to board the slave ships.
* After kidnapping potential slaves, merchants forced them to walk in slave caravans to the European coastal forts, sometimes as far as 1,000 miles. Shackled and underfed, only half the people survived these death marches. [httphttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4.html]
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was one component in a system of routes known as the "Triangular Trade" between South America, New England, and the West Coast of Africa. The three main items that were exchanged were sugar, rum and slaves. European goods, mainly guns, were used to buy slaves from Africa. The slaves were then shipped to the Americas. Then, from America, sugar, rum and tobacco were brought back to Europe, completing the "triangle" of trade. Slavery is one of the less noble aspects of American history.
====White slaves====
Between 1530 and 1780, Europeans including Britons and even some Americans were frequently taken captive and enslaved by privateers from the [[Barbary States]]. Estimates of so-called "white slavery" vary from as little as 50,000 to in the millions.<ref>http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm</ref> Generally , Europeans enslaved by the [[corsairs]] were usually poorer sea merchants and city dwellers whose families were unable to pay the ransom necessary to free them. Often the [[Pasha]] would purchase the female captives into his harem. Many were forced to "go turk" or convert to "mohammadism" in order to stay with their children who were raised as Muslims. Occasionally slaves would convert in order to escape harsher labors such as tending the oars in the corsairs.<ref>httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_print.html</ref>
For a long time, until the early 18th century, the Crimean Khanate maintained a massive slave trade with the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the Middle East. Kefe was one of the best known and significant trading ports and slave markets. In a process called "harvesting of the steppe" Crimean Tatars enslaved many Slavic peasants.
The Anti-Slavery Society estimated that there were 2 million slaves in [[Ethiopia]] in the early 1930s, out of an estimated population of between 8 and 16 million.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/glc/events/cbss/Miers.pdf Twentieth Century Solutions of the Abolition of Slavery]</ref> Ethiopia officially abolished slavery and serfdom after regaining its independence in 1942. On August 26, 1942 [[Haile Selassie]] issued a proclamation outlawing slavery.<ref>[http://www.globalmarch.org/resourcecentre/world/ethiopia.pdf Ethiopia]; [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2691/COS2.html Chronology of slavery]</ref>
====India====
India in 1841 had an estimated 8,000,000 or 9,000,000 slaves in India.<ref>According to Sir Henry Bartle Frere (who sat on the Viceroy's Council).</ref> In Malabar, about 15% of the population were slaves. Slavery was abolished in both Hindu and Muslim India by the Indian Slavery Act V. of 1843. Provisions of the Indian Penal Code of 1861 effectively abolished slavery in India by making the enslavement of human beings a criminal offense.<ref>[http://www.wluml.org/english/pubs/pdf/occpaper/OCP-07.pdf Islamic Law and the Colonial Encounter in British India]</ref>
====Korea====
Indigenous slaves existed in [[Korea]]. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) about 30% to 40% of the Korean population consisted of slaves. Slavery was hereditary, as well as a form of legal punishment. There was a slave class with both government and privately owned slaves, and the government occasionally gave slaves to citizens of higher rank. Privately owned slaves could be inherited as personal property. During poor harvests and famine, many peasants would voluntarily become slaves in order to survive. In the case of private slaves , they could buy their freedom.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-693609/history-of-Korea Korea, history pre-1945:slavery -- Encyclopaedia Britannica]</ref><ref>[http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/~geobl/main/lectures/l17.html The Choson Era: Late Traditional Korea]</ref><ref>[http://ideas.repec.org/p/snu/ioerwp/no26.html Korean Nobi]</ref> Slavery was officially abolished with the Gabo Reform of 1894.
===Present Day===
Slavery was also known among [[Arabs]] into the 20th century. As recently as the 1950s, [[Saudi Arabia]] had an estimated 450,000 slaves, 20% of the population.<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/slavery.htm Slavery in Islam]</ref><ref>[http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/apr07/page18.html £400 for a Slave]</ref> It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people had been taken into slavery in Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War.<ref>[http://www.iabolish.org/slavery_today/in_depth/sudan-genocide.html War and Genocide in Sudan]</ref><ref>[http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/livewire/archived/the_lost_children_of_sudan/ The Lost Children of Sudan]</ref> In [[Mauritania]] it is estimated that up to 600,000 men, women and children, or 20% of the population, are currently enslaved, many of them used as bonded labor.<ref>[httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1458_abolition/page4.shtml The Abolition season on BBC World Service]</ref> Slavery in Mauritania was finally criminalized in 2007.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6938032.stm Mauritanian MPs pass slavery law]</ref> In [[Niger]], slavery is also a current phenomenon; a Nigerien study has found that more than 800,000 people, or almost 8% of the population, are slaves.<ref>[httphttps://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=813618&page=1 The Shackles of Slavery in Niger]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4250709.stm Born to be a slave in Niger]</ref> The Tuareg-rebels in [[Mali]] have a long tradition of practicing slavery.<ref>http://frontpagemag.com/2013/howard-rotberg/slave-labor-from-auschwitz-to-mali/</ref> [[Daesh]], who follow the teaching of Mohammed, reestablished slavery; the women are sex slaves, while the men are used to work. Until 2015, they had captured and enslaved about 7,000 young women and children.<ref>httphttps://www.express.co.uk/news/world/629563/Daesh-kidnaps-women-children-sell-sex-slaves-social-media</ref>
Also, the term "slavery" is often used metaphorically for sex workers who are controlled by pimps.
==Abolition of Slavery==
===France===
France had slavery in its Caribbean colonies and [[Condorcet]] (1743–1794), an influential [[philosophe]], rejected slavery as antithetical to Enlightenment morality. He became a leader in the antislavery movement and in the 1780s attacked the institution of slavery on philosophical and moral grounds in his writings. After 1780, Condorcet took a leading, though secret, role in antislavery agitation by writing ''Reflections on Negro Slavery'' under the pseudonym Dr. Schwartz. In 1784, he was a founder and principal actor in La Société des Amis des Noirs, which sought to prepare for the eventual abolition of slavery. By 1794, Condorcet still supported colonization but believed that a colonization based on liberal economics and civil equality could transform the world.
[[Napoleon]] (ruled 1799-1815) made a major adventure into the Caribbean—sending 30,000 troops in 1802 to retake Saint Domingue ([[Haiti]]) from ex-slaves under black leader [[Toussaint L'Ouverture]] who had revolted and killed off the whites and mulattoes. Napoleon wanted to preserve France's financial benefits from the colony's sugar and coffee crops; he then planned to establish a major base at New Orleans. He, therefore, re-established slavery in Haiti and [[Guadeloupe]], where it had been abolished after rebellions. Slaves and black freedmen fought the French for their freedom and independence. Revolutionary ideals played a central role in the fighting for it was the slaves and their comrades who were fighting for the revolutionary ideals of freedom and equality, while the French troops under General Charles Leclerc fought to restore the order of the ancien régime. The goal of reestablishing slavery - which explicitly contradicted the ideals of the French Revolution - demoralized the French troops. The demoralized French soldiers were unable to cope with the tropical diseases, and most died of yellow fever. Slavery was reimposed in Guadeloupe but not in Haiti, which became an independent black republic.<ref>Philippe R. Girard, "Liberte, Egalite, Esclavage: French Revolutionary Ideals and the Failure of the Leclerc Expedition to Saint-Domingue." ''French Colonial History'' 2005 6: 55-77. in [[Project MUSE]]</ref> Napoleon's vast colonial dreams for Egypt, India, the Caribbean, Louisiana, and even Australia were all doomed for lack of a fleet capable of matching Britain's Royal Navy. Realizing the fiasco Napoleon liquidated the Haiti project, brought home the survivors and sold off Louisiana to the U.S.<ref>Steven Englund, ''Napoleon: A Political Life'' (2004). p 259. Slavery remained in Guadeloupe until 1848.</ref>
===United States===
{{main|History of slavery in Virginia}}
The first black slaves were brought to [[Jamestown]] Colony early on. Originally, slavery was legal in every British American colony. However, after the [[American Revolution]], the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that, since the new state constitution read, "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties", it made slavery illegal. By 1804, slavery had been abolished in every northern state.<ref>However, in many states, current slaves remained in servitude for the rest of their lives.</ref>
[[The South]] after 1800 became more militant in defense of slavery. [[John C. Calhoun]] and other southerners (usually members of the [[Democrat Party]]) called it the South's "peculiar institution" and proclaimed it a good idea. Some proponents suggested it would also be a good idea for white workers who were living under worse conditions in Northern cities.<ref>Elizabeth Fox-Genovese and Eugene D. Genovese, ''Slavery in White and Black: Class and Race in the Southern Slaveholders'' (2008)</ref> It flourished in the Southern states until [[Abraham Lincoln]], a Republican, and his Union Army abolished it during the [[American Civil War]]. This was a case of racial slavery—the slaves were black, the owners were white.<ref>A few free blacks owned slaves--usually relatives they had purchased from whites. Indian tribes also had slaves, both Indian and black.</ref>
Many people, primarily liberals, attempting to delegitimize the United States as a great nation or a moral nation with a Christian heritage, claim that because slavery was legal in several states up to 1865, the U.S. is not great and a force for evil. However, these liberals overlook several key facts, and their claims are exaggerated. First, slavery was common throughout the entire world (and still exists; 45 million people in the world were slaves in 2016<ref>[httphttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36416751 What does modern slavery look like?]. ''BBC''. May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref>), existing in many different nations and cultures for millennia.<ref name="Medved">Medved, Michael (September 26, 2007). [https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelmedved/2007/09/26/six-inconvenient-truths-about-the-us-and-slavery-n876052 Six inconvenient truths about the U.S. and slavery]. ''Townhall''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref> Only 3% of all the slaves taken from Africa actually went to North America,<ref name="Medved"/> and liberals commonly overlook the [[Arab slave trade]], which enslaved tens-of-millions of African people.<ref>Moore, A. (June 2, 2014). [http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/02/10-facts-about-the-arab-enslavement-of-black-people-not-taught-in-schools/ 10 Facts About The Arab Enslavement Of Black People Not Taught In Schools]. ''Atlanta Black Star''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Williams, Thomas D., PhD (August 2, 2016). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/08/02/islamic-state-muslims-ran-america-lucrative-african-slave-trade-continued/ Islamic State: If Muslims Ran America, ‘Lucrative African Slave Trade Would Have Continued’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref><ref>Hochschild, Adam (March 4, 2001). [https://www.nytimes.com/books/01/03/04/reviews/010304.04hochsct.html Human Cargo]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref> Additionally, the founding fathers mainly opposed slavery and put anti-slavery principles into the Constitution.<ref name="McCormack">McCormack, John (June 29, 2011). [httphttps://www.weeklystandard.com/lincoln-said-it-best-the-founding-fathers-opposed-slavery/article/575904 Lincoln Said It Best: The Founding Fathers Opposed Slavery]. ''The Weekly Standard''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref> They did not outright abolish it mainly due to pragmatic concerns, although the Northern states did.<ref>Anthony Iaccarino. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Founding-Fathers-and-Slavery-1269536 The Founding Fathers and Slavery]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved May 23, 2017.</ref> The U.S. soon took steps to limit slavery, such as banning it in the [[Northwest Territory]] in 1787 and banning the [[slave trade]] in 1807.<ref name="McCormack"/> Unlike most other countries around the world, the U.S. quickly abolished slavery, and although the evil of slavery cannot be denied, the slave trade did not equal genocide and it was a long term benefit for the Africans to leave Africa and enter the U.S.<ref name="Medved"/> Regarding racism in general, racism exists throughout the enire entire world, with most countries being much more racist than the U.S., a [[melting pot]], and modern liberals hold racist attitudes.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Racism-Fixating-Subverts-American/dp/0742522016 Liberal Racism: How Fixating on Race Subverts the American Dream], by Jim Sleeper. (2002)</ref> The two main forms of American slavery were house servants and fieldwork, in which slaves are used as a cheap labor force. Legally, the slave had limited rights. For example, it was a crime to kill or maim a slave, except in self-defense. In the American South, slavery normally was a lifetime condition, and children born to slave mothers automatically became slaves of the owner.
===British Empire===
Emancipation of slaves in the British Caribbean became a major cause by the 1800s, when abolitionists such as [[William Wilberforce]] and [[John Wesley]] began speaking out against the evils of the system.<ref>[http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wilberforce.htm William Wilberforce (1759-1833)]</ref> Wilberforce was supported in his efforts by [[John Newton]], a slave trader who became a Christian and then opposed the slave trade. In 1807 the [[House of Commons]] passed the Slave Trade Abolition Bill by a 283-16 vote. It made the international slave trade a crime of piracy and sent the Royal Navy to enforce it.<ref>[httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/03/20/abolition_navy_feature.shtml Sailing against slavery. By Jo Loosemore] BBC</ref> In 1808 the U.S. also outlawed the international trade. However, some slave traders evaded the prohibition—many were caught and hung, with the freed captives sent to [[Sierra Leone]]. Slavery remained legal inside the [[British Empire]] (including Canada) until 1833 when the government bought all the slaves from the owners<ref>Mostof the owners lived in great mansions in London, and appreciated the money.</ref> and freed them.<ref>The ex-slaves went through an apprenticeship process before gaining freedom. Andrea Curry ''Timeline: The Abolition of the Slave Trade'', British Heritage Magazine (May 2007)</ref><ref>[http://slavetrade.parliament.uk/slavetrade/history/parliamentabolishestheslavetrade/draftdocument.html History: Parliament Abolishes the Slave Trade] Parliamentary House of Lords</ref>
===United States===
{{main|Slavery in the Bible}}
[[File:Alma - Tadema The Finding of Moses 1904.jpg|thumb|360px|[[Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema]], The Finding of Moses, 1904.]]
Slavery was an a well-established institution throughout the Ancient Near East, and the [[Old Testament]] sanctions its form of regulated slavery, though that is seen as being counter -cultural in its degree of amelioration, including as compared to that of ancient slave states as Greece and Rome, and the typical practice of slavery in American history.<ref>[http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html ''Does God condone slavery in the Bible?'']</ref><ref>[http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslavent.html ''The issue of 'slavery' in the NT/Apostolic world'']</ref> The New Testament does not condemn the institution itself, but makes requirements upon both masters and slaves in further improving treatment in the inherited economic institution.
Slave owners in the antebellum South cited both Old Testament and New Testament texts, such as Ephesians 6:5, “slaves, obey your masters”, in arguments for the Christian endorsement of slavery. Another Bible verse states that thieves should be sold into slavery.<ref>Exodus 22:3 "He should make a full restitution; and if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.</ref> Under the [[Mosaic Law]], Hebrew slaves could be kept for six years, and offered release in the seventh for nothing. They were to be treated as hired servants, and generous provisions given to them at termination, though they could choose to be lifetime servants. However, daughters who were sold to be betrothed to the owner or his son, were not set free in their seventh year but were to be allowed to be redeemed if that marriage had not taken place done. If marriage occurred, they were to be set free if the husband was negligent in his basic marital obligations.(Exodus 21:1-11; cf. Dt. 15:12-18)
===Curse of Ham===
Some Southern white theologians before the Civil War asserted that the slavery of blacks was the result of the curse of Ham. However, there is no evidence that the curse had to do with skin color, and the descendants of [[Canaan]] most likely were not black, and it is generally concluded that they did not settle in [[Africa]].<ref>http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=70</ref><ref>http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/race-blacks.html</ref><ref>Full Life Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing Company (September 1992)</ref><ref>A Condensed Anti-slavery Bible Argument By George Bourne</ref>
==Further reading==
* [[Abolitionism]]
* [[American Civil War]]
*[[Black history]]
===References===
* Finkelman, Paul, and Joseph C. Miller, eds. ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery'' (1999), very good reference
* Morgan, Kenneth. ''Slavery and the British Empire: From Africa to America'' (2008) [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Slavery-British-Empire-Africa-America/dp/0192892916/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241544745&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parish, Peter J. '' Slavery: History and Historians'' (1989) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/slavery-history-and-historians-by-peter-j-parish.jsp online edition]
* Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. ''The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery'' (2 vol. 1997), very good reference
===Rome===
* Bradley, Keith. ''Slavery and Society at Rome'' (1994) [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Slavery-Society-Themes-Ancient-History/dp/0521378877/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254513594&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Westermann, William L. ''The Slave Systems of Greek and Roman Antiquity'' 91955) 182pp [http://www.questia.com/read/3797806?title=The%20Slave%20Systems%20of%20Greek%20and%20Roman%20Antiquity online edition]
* Genovese, Eugene. ''Roll Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made'' (1974), the most important book, written as Genovese was moving from Marxism to conservatism
* Miller, Randall M., and John David Smith, eds. ''Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery'' (1988), excellent reference
* Phillips, Ulrich B. ''American Negro Slavery: A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime'' (1918), the best older history; leftists complain it does not share their biases. [https://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11490 free edition online]
==References==
{{reflistReflist|2colwidth=35em}}
==External links==