Slavery Issue

Slavery

The book "Founding Brothers" was filled with many themes that shaped America into what it is now, but the most prevalent ideal presented throughout the book was slavery. The issue of slavery is something that still brings up questions to this day about why it happened and what the founding fathers felt about it. Benjamin Franklin was really one of the only founding fathers to talk about the issue but he didn't start voicing his opinions and views on it till the end of his life. Benjamin Franklin believed the issue of slavery should have been discussed sooner and with more importance by his revolutionary brothers and he deeply regrets that it did not. During this time period slavery was something that extended over numerous areas in American life thus effecting greatly how America was shaped. Slavery as a whole had the greatest effect on American politics and policies, the economies growth or decline, and it also effected the overall social understanding in numerous areas of our country. Every part of early colonial American society had been built around or been effected by slavery from using it to push political agendas, being the single most important factor to keeping the south‘s economy stable, to changing the way people viewed slaves as either people or dirty animals who didn't deserve rights guaranteed to all citizens.

Slavery's effect on early American politics, politicians, and policies is so great that it is hard to measure the magnitude of its importance. The development of the early American political system was something that had to be formed and created around addressing or keeping silent on the issue of slavery. In early American politics most politicians either talked about the issue of slavery or they remained silent and impartial. An example of this was pushing the issue of slavery off the topics of discussion during the Continental Congresses because it wasn't very important or the appropriate time for its discussion. They didn't want to cause trouble that's why when the Quakers brought up the issue in Congress it created a huge up roar that divided the house. The southern politicians viewed this as an act to slow down the Congresses agenda put also as a time to grab the spotlight. The policies in America had already established that slavery could not be addressed and questioned for twenty years. This policy had been included in the Constitution to gain support for its ratification from the southern states and those states dependent on slave labor. So from the very begin slavery was used as a deal breaker and something people could use to wheel and deal to get their policies approved. The Constitutions ratification was only accomplished after the slavery clause had been included to entice the south into ratifying it.

Americas early dependence of slave labor was a major factor in the growth of the American economy as a whole.