American History (HIST 101): Slavery's Impact on American Society

This essay examines the pervasive and destructive impact of slavery on American society, drawing heavily from Frederick Douglass's autobiographical work, "My Bondage and My Freedom." The essay argues that slavery victimized not only the enslaved but also slaveholders and the broader society, highlighting the moral and economic consequences. It analyzes how the institution of slavery corrupted individuals, as demonstrated by the transformation of Sophia, Douglass's master's wife, and its deep roots in the economic system, particularly cotton production. The essay further explores the dehumanization of slaves, the destruction of their identities, and the lasting legacy of racism. It references several scholarly sources to support its claims, offering a comprehensive overview of slavery's detrimental effects on all involved and its enduring impact on American society, even in the present day.

Running head: AMERICAN HISTORY
Slavery “Victimized” Everyone
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AMERICAN HISTORY
Frederick Douglass in his autobiographical book “My bondage and my freedom”
describes his struggle of a slave life during the slavery period of American history. Through his
personal experience he presented an argument that not only the slaves suffered by the institution
of slavery of that period but all others like the slave holders or non slave holders also suffered.
The author’s claim is agreeable as the ruthless practice affected every section of the society more
or less. History has demonstrated that any institutionalized crime has impact on everyone
involved in the societal structure of life.
The slave holders did not treat the slaves as human beings and their children were
victimized as they experience and learn from their parents that it is okay to treat another human
being such a way. The slavery institution of that period had great economic impact on the society
and non slave owners were part of the immoral act (Rogers 881). As a whole the entire society
that participated in the slavery practice degraded the dignity and value of human life. The moral
and spiritual backbone of the society was broken as most of the non slave citizens willingly
participated in the dreadful institution. The white slave owners or non slave owners committed
such shameful acts that even the present society is still carrying the burden of guilt and shame.
Fredrick describes how his master’s wife Sophia used to treat him nicely and taught him
reading and writing (Gale 6). However as the master came to know about it he immediately
ordered her to stop that as he believed educated slave would be harmful for the institution.
Obeying her husband’s order Sophia started treating Fredrick badly if he finds him reading. This
real incident from his life demonstrated how the institution of slavery changed a human being
and transformed her into a morally corrupted human being.

AMERICAN HISTORY
Such personal experiences from the book describe how the economy depended on the
slavery system especially in the cotton production field deeply corrupted the slave holders and
slaves in the south (Olmstead and Rhode 2). The slave holders put the slaves into horrible
conditions and they used to justify their horrible actions by stating that this was their duty.
Frederick described how slaves were treated like animals and the dehumanization was deeply
rooted (Nista 38). Frederick wrote that “Slaves had become a fixture that had no decisions, no
ambitions and no purpose.” (Douglass 129). According to Frederick the slaves were deeply
affected for a longer term because their self identities were taken away, their parents or relatives
were unknown to most of them as he said “Genealogical trees do not flourish among slaves”
(Douglass 30).
The concept of free or unpaid labor established as the slaves were treated such way
(Davidson 56). The slave holders were extremely dependent on the slaves. Apart from the save
owners the non slave owners had to live in a society where slaves were present as they were
ignored if they had sensitive approach towards the slaves. Racism is still present there even
though the tradition has been diminished (Feagin 127). The sense of discrimination was such
deep rooted that the present generation and the coming many generation will experience its
negative impacts.

AMERICAN HISTORY
Reference
Davidson, Julia O’Connell. "Slavery and Wage Labour: Freedom and Its Doubles." Modern
Slavery. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015. 55-80.
Douglass, Frederick. My bondage and my freedom. Gildan Audio, 2017.
Feagin, Joe R. Racist America: Roots, current realities, and future reparations. Routledge, 2014.
Gale, C.L. A Study Guide for Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015.
Nista, Danielle. "A Vigorous Affirmation of Life: Slaves in the Face of
Dehumanization." Elements 11.1 (2015).
Olmstead, Alan, and Paul Rhode. Cotton, Slavery, and the New History of Capitalism. Working
Paper, University of Michigan, 2016.
Rogers, William B. "of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) played a
crucial role in the evo-lution of Douglass’s political views, his notion of social justice, and his
growing realization of the interconnectedness of oppressive institu." The Journal of American
History (2015).