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There is no doubt that it was evil. It forced large numbers of human beings into involuntary servitude and often subjected them to extreme cruelty: slaves were beaten, raped, starved, and if they did not do enough work, murdered. They were forced to perform long hours of manual labor for their masters, who not only did not pay them but who often did not even give them any rest, even in the harshest weather. There may have been a few "benign" slaveholders who treated their slaves with some degree of compassion, but the very act of enslaving someone and holding them against their will is nothing to be proud of.

While not all slavery is racially based (in Bible times, those whose side lost in a war could be enslaved, although there was a time limit to how long they would remain in servitude), some of the worst slavery has been racial, with one group dominating another solely based on skin color, emanating from the inaccurate (but widely believed) claim that one race was superior to another and somehow had a "right" to enslave the inferior race. In the United States, slavery not only caused endless suffering and brutality for black people, but it also tore the country apart and led to the Civil War.

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Q: Was slavery a benign or evil institution?
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How did apologists describe the institution of slavery before the 1830's?

A nevessary evil!! Trust me just had this question on a test got it right :)


Why did the Union think slavery was bad?

Most of the Northern population believed that on moral and religious grounds, slavery was an evil institution. The Northern economy was not based on slavery, although the cotton from the South was produced by the labor of slaves.


Institution forbidden by the the 13th amendment?

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sojourner truth ended slavery


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The "Peculiar Institution" was and remains a common euphemism for slavery in the U.S. southern slave states. People to this day will speak of "the South's Peculiar Institution" as a way of referring to slavery without actually using the word "slavery."


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John Calhoun defended the institution of slavery by refering to it as the South's "peculiar institution" in 1828 and it came into common usage in the 1830s as both abolitionists and defenders of slavery used the term to make their points.


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Because Slavery is Evil, and William Penn a great Christian/Quaker was opposed to the Evil practice of Slavery.


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Did massachucestts recognize slavery as a legal institution?

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