Slavery:A Struggle of Race and Basic Rights for Humans

In the 1800s, cotton trade was an important business in America. And since it was hard work, and workers would have to be paid, slavery increased as a way of labor. Since slaves didn't have rights they could be worked until exhaustion. With the cotton boom, slavery became more and more entrenched in America. Slaves were treated as property and not as people. Slavery affected the dignity of the enslaved and because of this they weren't even seen as people.

The Cotton Gin

The cotton gin allowed cotton to be grown in even more areas since it allowed for the separation of cotton seeds to be easier. Slavery grew due to this. Slaves weren't even counted as whole people within the Constitution. Instead, they were counted as 3/5 of a person. This lowered the dignity of many slaves and this is why people treated them as property,