Critical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Analysis - Essay Example Finally, it will highlight on the collective root causes, issues and problems that arose as a result of chattel slavery and then it will analyze approaches to abolishing chattel slavery. Origin of Chattel Slavery in North America Since slavery was incorporated in the world, slaves were viewed as property and could be moved as easy as when the owners wanted. This did not take long to be incorporated in the North America. This is so since from the time slaves were bought, or kidnapped in Africa, they were immediately treated as property to be exported into North America. There are various reasons why slaves were treated as property. First, the constitution at that time stipulated that as long as someone was white, they had the right to life and own property. This meant that black people were not considered as human beings by the law since they did not have the right to own property. This being the case, then they were treated as property which could be sold or bought as their masters w ished. Chattel slavery also started in north America as a way of ensuring that slaves respected their masters and did anything they were asked. This is so since being property meant that they could eat, sleep and wear clothes at their masters’ pleasure. This resulted in the black slaves loosing respect for themselves resulting in their at most obedience to their masters. Another reason why chattel slavery was introduced in North America was to ensure that slaves did not run away from their masters. Slaves were branded to ensure that everyone including the slaves new that they were someone’s property. By doing so, the Whites ensured that a slave could not run away since there would be nowhere else they would go. This was the case because if a fugitive slave was caught by white people he/she would have been returned to his master who had branded him/he and severely punished through whipping or sometimes execution. Chattel slaver was legal in North America since it was pr otected by the constitution. In fact, even after the declaration of independence changes to the section on slavery had been architected in such a way that it would not have been changed for the next two decades. Fugitive Narratives and abolition of Slavery Fugitive slave narratives were stories either written or oral about the life and accomplishments of a slave who had ran away from their masters or a free slave. These narratives became so influential North America that they are considered a tradition in the United States of America. These narratives were instrumental in the abolition of slavery in North America since they resulted in many slaves revolving against their masters asking for their rights as they too were also human beings. These stories talked of how a slave experienced freedom and how in other parts of North America and the world black people were respected and treated as fellow human beings. In fact most scholars consider slave fugitive narratives as the major facto r that led to the abolition of slave trade. This is so since it was through them that black people started to revolt against their masters and even fight for their freedom some even willing to die. As a result slavery got abolished since many slaves ran away from the southern states to join the war in favor of the union side of the American civil