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Welcome to a webquest on historical viewpoints of slavery! By completing the following tasks, you will have a better understanding of how there were varied views of slavery in the United States!
First, an introduction...
The issue of slavery has provoked anger and questions over thousands of years. Many ancient civilizations developed with the help of forced laborers (slaves). Even today, over 27 million people around the world are enslaved. Why do some people accept slavery? Who decides whether a nation will accept or ban slavery?
As the American colonies became independent from Britain, the issue of slavery increasingly became a "hot topic". After the Revolutionary War, the United States acquired new territories whose leaders had to decide whether or not to allow slavery. Thomas Jefferson was alarmed about the nation, of which he was once President. Refering to the issue of slavery as a wolf, Jefferson said "We have a wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go."
There were three different perspectives on the issue of slavery. Abolitionists were people who were strongly against slavery and felt that slavery should be banned across the nation. Most abolitionists lived in the northern states, which prohibited slavery. Next, there were people who supported slavery, which included southern slaveholders. Since slaves allowed for increased production at plantations, supporters of slavery felt that every state should be open to slavery. Finally, there were "moderates", who felt that each individual state had the right to vote on whether or not they would allow slavery.
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