History Essay Questions

Question 1

Defend or attack this statement: Slavery was the root cause of the American Civil War.

Introduction

American Civil War started in 1861 and continued till 1865, which was beyond the initial expectations. Southern and Northern states fought this war under the consideration of different perspectives (Global Security, 2011). However, the war resulted in huge sacrifices from both sides. One of the major causes behind the civil war was the expansion and ban of slavery in different states. The slavery led to secession crisis and finally to the civil war.

Developments in American Slavery: 1790-1808

The Cotton gin is considered as one of the major factors which were responsible for shaping the economic, political and social infrastructure of America (HTI, 2007). However, the same Cotton Gin fostered the racial slavery in the region to at large scale. This invention affected the African-American slaves most seriously; the rich farmlands of American West demanded increased number of racial slaves to support them in the process of Cotton cultivating. Thus, the racial slavery expanded significantly during the period 1790 and 1860. This was the period when transatlantic slave trade was legal in America. In January 1808, the laws prohibited the importation of slaves in the region. If it did not happen, millions of black slaves would have entered the United States in order to serve the rich Americans. In absence of slavery prohibition rule, the United States might have become a slave-based empire.

Roles of Enslaved Americans

The enslaved men mainly had to herd the farms, work for cultivation, work in plantation and mines. The slaves were hired according to their physical built and working capacity for a particular task. The enslaved women did domestic jobs most of the times, including cleaning, and preparing food. Sometimes women slaves were also involved in economic jobs such as trading and cotton dying. The life was more challenging for the enslaved women; as they were oppressed not only due to their race, but also due to their gender.

African American people were tired of facing the racial discrimination not only for the politics, but for nearly every area of life. They faced workplace discriminations, differences in the quality of health care and education they received, different and low standards of housing and many more. Mostly, the black slaves were not allowed to own their lands, to travel freely, and even to attend the prayers as there was a risk ...