It is estimated that 1,200,000 (1.2 million) people in Europe are subjected to slavery and this value leaps to a conservative estimate of 40,300,000 (40.3 million) worldwide as of 2020
Tag: slavery
U.S. Presidents Who Participated Within the Practice of Slavery
10 of the first 12 U.S. presidents owned slaves, with the only exclusions being the 2nd president John Adams and the 6th president John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams. George Washington owned an estimated 200 – 600+ slaves, Thomas Jefferson owned an estimated 200 – 600+ slaves, and Zachary Taylor owned an estimated 300 slaves. The U.S. president with the least number of slaves, not including presidents who did not own slaves, is a tie between the 8th president, Martin Van Buren and the 18th US president, Ulysses S. Grant, each owning one slave. It should be noted, 12 U.S. presidents owned slaves at some point in their lives, however of these 12, 8 owned slaves while in office. The last U.S. president to participate within slavery whilst still in office was Zachary Taylor, and the last U.S. president to own an enslaved person at any time was Ulysses S. Grant. The last person enslaved by a U.S. president was William Andrew Johnson, who was enslaved by the 17th U.S. president, Andrew Johnson. It is believed that Johnson paid $500.00 for William Andrew Johnson’s mother, which equates to $19,348.46 as of 2023 when accounting for inflation using the base year of 1850, 10 years after Johnson’s first slave purchase and 15 years before he became president of the U.S.
The Choice of February as Black History Month
In the 1920’s, African American historian Carter Godwin Woodson chose February as Black History Month because it coincided with both Abraham Lincoln who emancipated all slaves, and Frederick Douglass’ birthday. The original focus of Black History Month was to illustrate black contributions to American life and to celebrate black excellence, however in contrast to this narrative, over the course of the past few decades, slavery and civil rights have become highly focused conversation points
The Advent of Colorism During Slavery in the U.S.
During the period of slavery in the U.S., slave owners would segregate their slaves into separate groups consisting of dark skin slaves and light skin slaves. Darker skinned slaves would be forced to work in the fields whilst lighter skinned slaves would be required to work within the home. Racism which involves discrimination based upon the shade or hue of skin tone is referred to as “colorism” and is often perpetrated by people of the same race, but with different completions. Colorism often occurred throughout the U.S.’ long and complicated history with slavery, and continues to occur within modern day families as well, as many American. families have different skin tones among the various children born into it because of different genetic variations in both parents genealogical history
The Legality of Indian Child Labor
India has the highest amount of children who work of any country in the world. Thousands of children are trafficked into domestic slavery each year in India but due to India’s vast population of 1,300,000,000 (1.3 billion) people, these children go largely unnoticed. In India, every hour, 8 children are trafficked however 5 of these children are never found after having gone missing. Traffickers are paid 5000 – 6000 Indian Rupees ($95.00 – $110.00) per child. Indian society seems to permiss children working and it is deeply ingrained within society as it is viewed as poor children working because their families cannot afford to send them to attend an educational institution. It is viewed as better to work than to do nothing at all. It’s ironic because a buffalo will sell for 200,000 Indian Rupees ($3700.00) but a young girl for 10,000 Indian Rupees ($185.00). The value of a human life does not seem to count for much as prices are set in terms of how much work a person or animal can perform before collapsing. Kailash Satyarthi, a man who has spent his life freeing children from slavery, his organization freeing close to 100,000 children in the last 3 decades as of 2018. Satyarthi who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his efforts to eradicate slavery states. Satyarthi often educates that there is a triangular relationship between poverty, child labor, and illiteracy with each forming a chicken and egg relationship with the other as each factor is a consequence of the other factors. When child labor is permitted, it allows child illiteracy and poverty to continue. Child labor is the largest factor preventing education and literacy for children around the world. This places children at an enormous disadvantage because they cannot become equal partners in the globalized economy. It’s not only the traffickers of organized crime who need to be suppressed. It is also the middle class families in large cities like Delhi who do not consider the consequences before hiring a young person to watch their children, clean their home, and cook their meals. Suppressing both of these ties to slavery will drastically help reduce the number of children who are trafficked each year. Law enforcement has been known to resort to medical examinations to provide an accurate age when documentation is unavailable or thought to be fraudulent. Indian law however clearly states that if a school certificate is used as proof of age, then no medical examination shall commence. This is used by traffickers as leverage to ensure that they’re never culpable for having a person below the age of 18 under their supervision
Modern Day Slavery in Morocco
Slavery has not been abolished in Morocco and is technically still legal even during the modern day. Many people have parents, or grandparents who were born into slavery and have experienced slavery first hand. An estimated 13,000,000 (13 million) slaves were transported north across the Sahara Desert, a number similar in size to those who forced into slavery during the 18th and 19th century in the U.S.. In Morocco there are entire villages of people who descend from the lineage of slaves who were forced along the salt roads of West Africa
The Ancient Greek Ruler Draco and the Ancient Greek Reformer Solon
Draconian laws which are associated with being especially unfair and cruel stem from the tyrant Draco who commissioned them in 621 B.C.. Draco forced farmers who couldn’t pay their debts into slavery and simple crimes like stealing a cabbage were punishable by death. The wise reformer Solon saved Athens, Greece by freeing all indebted slaves, eliminating the death penalty for all but extreme cases, and wrestling the political power out of the hands of noble bloodlines by establishing a council of 400 citizens to run the city, a bold step during its day, to untether governance from inheritance
Inhumane Treatment Toward Minor Immigrants Illegally Entering the United States of America
Due to the fact that so many unaccompanied minors have flooded across the U.S. and Mexico border during the past few years, vetting of potential sponsors and/or family members willing to take child and teenage migrants has been drastically relaxed. Initially the federal government decided that the fingerprinting of those vetted would be abolished, however they soon dropped the requirement of the submission of original documents including birth certificates upon applying, and finally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sanctioned background checks once required were no longer deemed necessary, essentially allowing any predatory figure or group to acquire access to minors of various ages for any number of illicit reasons. Although these minors were exposed to sexual predation and many other forms of inhumane and illegal treatment, most were and continue to be forced into peonage, financial servitude which is equitable to slavery and has been illegal in the U.S. since the abolishment of slavery in 1867. These minors commonly work in unskilled laborer positions in industrialized farming operations found across the U.S.
American President Abraham Lincoln Ending Slavery
Abraham Lincoln very much wanted to end slavery in the United State of America but he was rational enough to assume that doing so would require more than simply becoming president and signing its abolishment into law. The American Civil War was not fought to end slavery. It was fought to stop the rebellion and secession of slave states from the United States of America. The Southern states wanted to secede from the Northern states because they understood that Lincoln was going to work to end slavery with or without their support, during his presidency. However, even after ending the long and arduous American Civil War, slavery still thrived in the Southern states. The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, ultimately ended the practice of slavery and slave trading. As the American Civil War was waning and it became apparent that the Confederacy would indefinitely lose to the Northern states, Lincoln fought hard to have Congress pass the 13th Amendment, so that it would be added to the United States of America Constitution. He signed it into law after the American Civil War ended, and doing so effectively ended slavery in the United States of America on December 6, 1865. Incidentally, the 13th Amendment passed the Senate on April 8, 1864 but was not signed into official law being that it is now part of the United States of America Constitution until 1865