Remember the paper I was a bit stressed about? The one about the abolition of slavery and if it ended racism or not…lol well, I MADE AN A+ 😊
Here it is! Lemme know what you think in the comments.
Ajia Johnson
Dr. D Messenger
HY 102-702
September 27, 2025
The Abolition of Slavery
The abolition of slavery was a major turning point for the entire world. The system of slavery was so complex. It took countless efforts to suppress the slave trade but it still lingers beneath the surface of our daily lives. While it is common to believe everyone has pure intentions, to do no harm; if it were not for those who spoke up against slavery, the others may have never considered the next man or the plight of those enslaved. The abolition of slavery became viewed as the correct & necessary thing to do following the politicizing of the ‘immorality’ associated with the slave trade.
Economic impact widely contributed to the abolition of slavery. When slaves began to revolt by fighting back or jumping ship, this interfered with the profit that could be made and also could be very dangerous for the overseers. But research proved the profits were still present. The economic impact went far beyond financial strains or the lack thereof and included a moral impact on the economy. “A leading catalyst for the emergence of the movement to abolish the slave trade and slavery in the late 18th century, was Christian. Anti-slavery sentiment flourished widely among English Dissenters or Non- Conformists—especially the Quakers—and the Methodist or Evangelical wing of the Church of England. John Wesley (1703-91), Anglican priest and founder of Methodism, prefaced his Thoughts upon Slavery (1774) with a quotation of the tenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis: “And the Lord said—What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (Genesis 4.10). The context is Cain’s murder of his brother Abel and the implication is clear: African and Englishman, slave and master, are brothers, common children of the same God.” The Biggar document reads as if Britain simply chose to “do the right thing’. Although this scripture was not new to the times, it was used to shame those involved with the trade.
“It is now generally thought that British abolitionism derived from humanitarian & religious commitment, not economic self interest. But instead of focusing on the movements leaders, historians now emphasize the unprecedented mass participation in the abolitionist campaigns. This has led to a new appreciation of the significance of abolitionism: it was a founding moment in the birth of modern politics and a critical element of British national self-definition.” Ultimately, the pressure to appear morally correct lead to the abolitionist movement.
In Biggers Briefings for Britain, he begins his executive summary stating, “Colonialism and slavery. There is a connection between them, but not an equation.” Yet there is no place in the article that mentions the differences between slavery & colonialism. It does not mention colonialism explicitly, or taking over someone else’s country politically and exploiting it economically; which is how slavery was able to be as massive as it was. Which is the very reason we are here, dealing with racism in present day. I do not believe world-wide racism would exist without French & Britain colonization of the Americas and surrounding islands. Leaving out the colonization part of the story is where the extent of damage is easily undervalued. It is hard to believe any scholar would see any sources who forget to mention that part of the story, as completely credible.
Although many Christians began to speak out against slavery and question the morals of the enslavers, there were also many Christians who were in favor of slavery and owned 100’s of slaves. So the moral compass isn’t necessarily inherit & still differs for all individuals, including those from the same religion. Some Christians believe it is okay to do harmful things as long as it can somehow be backed by scripture. Was freedom truly freedom if it only included white people? This is the question that was asked through publications and assemblies of groups against slavery, notably the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in London in 1787. The abolition of slavery was taken seriously only after slave revolts began and enslavers lives became endangered. The inhumane conditions, deaths of the hundreds of thousands of enslaved people due to malnourishment and disease was simply not enough to stop the slave trade. Thus telling the reader that the loss of life didn’t mean much to them privately, only once they were shamed for it publicly.
There are a few contradicting statements in Biggar’s publication. “The British spent almost as much attempting to suppress the trans- Atlantic slave-trade in the forty-seven years from 1816-62 as they earned in profits over the same length of time leading up to 1807 (David Eltis).” This claim actually sounds preposterous if we count the fact that an entire nation of people were slaughtered (Native Americans) prior to shipping millions of others across the Atlantic. How is the math calculated that makes them so certain its true?
I am unsure if it is willful ignorance or if the programming of white supremacy interferes with critical thinking. Thinking critically would allow a person to understand the perspective of the next man. Racists believe their race is superior but with a simple observation of the world around us, we find that every ‘race’ has strong and weak men. Racist people do not know how to think for themselves. They can only follow what they have been taught. Racism has been passed down for generations & continues to be present today. Most people will not question what they are taught by their families, teachers or church leaders but I do believe we all have our biases and that we should all question what is presented to us, no matter who presents it.
It is also mentioned that slave owners were rewarded 20 millions pounds each. The money came from the government and taxpayers. Why then is that amount counted toward the abolition of slavery when it only profited those in power? Imagine had that money went to the enslaved people or their children directly. They were the ones to suffer illnesses, lose years of their lives, loss of family members, pain and suffering; then maybe we could say that Britain made an attempt to make things right but that will only happen if scholars, theologians, government officials and pastors tell the whole truth. “The British could not undo the past, but they did do the next best thing: repent of it and liberate the still living.” Liberate the still living in what ways? If slave owners were compensated financially for their loss of slaves, how then could that not be the only appropriate way to compensate those who were enslaved or displaced? It was the obvious answer for the oppressors but not an option for the victims? It is clear that if they were to compensate the millions of descendants of the enslaved people, surely the country will lose all of its financial power. As they probably should, being that an entire nation was destroyed for it to gain it’s power.
Biggar ends his publication with this bold statement: “Between the slave-trade and slavery of the 18th century and the present lies a hundred and fifty years of imperial penance in the form of costly abolitionist endeavor to liberate slaves around the globe. The vicious racism of slavers and planters was not essential to the British Empire, and whatever racism exists in Britain today is not its fruit.” This sounds like denial. How could a man enslave another man without believing his is inferior to him? How could the British Empire have been established without enslaving other nations and the free labor of millions? Once the transatlantic trade ended, the United States began to sell slaves within its own country. Between 1808-1861, one million people of African descent were forcibly relocated as part of an internal trade. Which also answers the question, no, the abolition of slavery did not end racism. As late as the 1960’s, slave trading from Africa to Arabian Peninsula was still taking place, and incidents of slavery still appear occasionally not only in Africa, but all across the world- including the United States—today. In fact, human trafficking happens everyday now, still in the millions globally, but it effects every race at this point. Human trafficking is even said to be a $172.6 billion industry. Current estimates show traffickers hold 49.6 million people in modern slavery worldwide, including 12 million children (ILO and United Nations, 2024). This land was built and is sustained on imprisonment, murder and other numerous criminal activities that go unmentioned. Wherever slavery once existed, its legacy still weighs heavy.
The amount of time I have spent thinking about how I could possibly speak on racism in just 4-5 pages made me wonder if the emotional distress of the descendants of those detached from their history is ever taken into account. A waiter at my favorite Mexican restaurant shared a story with me about how he failed Spanish class because the language has been so ‘europeanized”. African American vernacular is also considered inappropriate language simply because it does not follow the English standard. 100’s of other languages have been washed away. We can all agree that the world has only transitioned from trafficking dark skinned people in mass numbers via slave trade to trafficking people from all ethnic backgrounds, quietly, one by one from wherever they can find people unprotected. If we the people do not come together, the world will continue to be exploited by those in power because common people will be too busy fighting each other to see what is still happening right in front of us.
Feedback: A very powerful piece of writing, grounded in solid history- well done! GradeA
I couldn’t figure out how to add it as an attachment or copy/paste with the footnotes included so here are the sources cited: Elizabeth Clarke and Rafe Blaufarb, Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle Against the Transatlantic Slave Trade a Graphic History. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015).
Nigel Biggar “Briefings for Britain: Official Website.” Nigel Biggar, Jan. 2021, nigelbiggar.uk/tag/briefings-for-britain/. 11
“The Dark Market Economics of Human Trafficking” [online] Available https://ourrescue.org/resources/sex-trafficking/human-trafficking/human-trafficking-statistics/economics-of-human-trafficking [April 2025].