What is abolition? And end to slavery? Freedom? Independence? Granting new life to an entire group of people? By definition, abolition is “the legal prohibition and ending of slavery.” But isn’t it much more than that? What about all of the people who who fought and put their own safety on the line to protect (what they thought to be) the rights of others? What about the individuals who traveled the counrty to gain support for the cause that they so deeply beleived in? Anyone can look up the definition of abolition, but it takes a special lens to truly understand what it really it: an ethno-historical lens.

Many people will think of abolition and slavery as a movement that occurred mainly in America. And to some extent, they are correct. However, it is important to note that abolition was transnational and knew no bounds. Strangely enough, America was practicing slavery under the rule of the English, who had already ended this behavior in their own country, but permitted it to continue overseas (transnational). When dealing with slavery and abolition, there are some key factors to consider: Borders/Laws, Language, Politics/Governments, and Time Periods. Together, these all clash and make abolition and slavery what we have come to know it as today.

When thinking about abolition, it is important to realize a few things; first of all, abolition was very male oriented even with the great deal of women who were involved with the movement. At the time, women were still considered “less” than men, and this is what prevented their involvement. Second, abolition deals mainly with psychological chains and economics. The psychological chains are those that form the average “slave-mindset” (that is, a vast majority of the individuals “selected” to become slaves knew that they could do nothing about it and disparagingly awaited their new life. At the same time, there were certain people who new nothing other than slavery and they didn’t know that there was anything else to do with their lives. On the other hand, economics played a huge role in the slave trade. Individuals were being sold at market auctions for money, with the expectation that they would provide labor and services that would provide monetary gain for their owner. While it is something that is unfathomable to think about now, the buying and selling of human life was once a very vital part of the American economy.

Probably the most important factor of all when looking at slavery is race. Race plated a vital role in the slave movement and abolition. Race divided the country in half and pitted one person against another. For some reason, blacks and other people of color were considered inferior to the white man. This is why African’s were constantly taken from their homes and brought to America, where they would be bought and sold as property. In return, they were expected to provide high quality of labor and service while being treated as though they were nothing. Looking back on it, there was nothing fair about slavery at all, and to think that something so cruel and wretched happened in the very place that we now live is a little bit sickening.

Throughout the years, there have been many different thoughts/assumptions made about slavery by many individuals. Something that is important to note is that slavery was something that grew to be so large, it could only be ended by law and war. Many of the individuals that were enslaved themselves often tried to escape and make a better life, but it was thought that these people had some type of mental disease. This ideology was proposed by Dr. Samuel Cartwright, and information on his findings can be found here. Over time, this theory was rejected (rightfully so), but it still shows how at various times throughout history there were conflicting views on slavery and abolition, and before you can make any assumptions you should follow the information that you are looking at and make sure that it is clear of any flaws.