When Europeans first colonized North America, labor on the extensive land was often difficult (“Slavery in the United States”). People were needed to work on the land and tend to it. So, in the early seventeenth century, a Dutch ship brought African slaves to the New World (“Slavery in the United States”). Slaves were a cheap form of labor and were extremely useful on large farms. At the end of the American Revolution, slavery had become unprofitable to the North (“Slavery in the United States”). In the South, slavery was starting to seem unprofitable, as well, due to the decrease in tobacco prices (“Slavery in the United States”). However, the invention of the cotton gin changed everything for the South. Southern lands …show more content…
They felt as though slavery was a generous system that gave them clothes and food and kept them occupied (“Slavery in the United States”). However, this was not how the slaves saw the practice of slavery. Slaves often escaped because of how poorly they were treated. The treatment of slaves varied greatly depending on the slave master. Some slaves were treated mildly and some were treated cruelly (“Slavery in the United States”). A slave’s treatment was based on their skill level and often determined their fate on the plantation (Littlefield). Some slaves with a high skill level would be promoted to a different job, but those with a lower skill level were either whipped to death or sold. Families were often separated in the selling process (“Slavery in the American South”). Slaves’ treatment would become so cruel to the point that they often tried to escape to the north, where slavery was illegal (“Slavery in the United States”). Most slaves escaped from the border states -- Maryland, Kentucky, and Virginia (Connors). This was because it was harder to escape from the southern-most states (Connors). The journey was farther and much