Slavery: in your opinion, was it a good or bad thing that happened?

Question

and simply back up your answer with why.

curiosity.

Answer 1

let me know when you say to your self gee i would like to be a slave from here on out not earn money for my labors be beaten by my master for no good cause other than he or she can be whipped, maimed, mutilated and fed only when her or she pleases etc. your question is simply unthoughtful  

Answer 2

It is bad and good. FIrst The bad many Black slaves were transported from Africa and sent to America. Many died on the boat trip to America. After having their family split up and being driven to some were they dont know they were forced to have back breaking labor.

The good side is slavery really helped the early American economy. Keep in mind in some places slaves out numbered white 3 to 1. Because of the labor they helped boost America.

Actually slavery could have been stopped after the American revoultion but it was stopped because the congress thought a civil war would be on there hand and they could not afford it.  

Answer 3

How could slavery ever be a 'good' thing? Slavery wasn't invented by either the USA or the UK. The Romans had slaves and I'm sure that the practice goes back further than this.

What right has any man to enslave, purchase and subjugate another man?

Of those people captured in Africa and transported in horrendous conditions, many died on the journey.

What really angered some people about slavery in the 18th Century was the scale of the operations. Ports like Bristol and Liverpool (UK) thrived from the trade.

Liberia was created in 1821. Unfortunately, many of the returned slaves did not originate from this particular area of West Africa and were viewd as colonialists by the local population. This problem has not been fully resolved to this day.

Answer 4

Slavery was a bad thing... for the slaves. A good thing... for the owners. It depends on what slaves you were talking about. However, in all the cases of slaves in the history of the world, slavery is a crime against humanity. Every human has a right to own their own selves. So, slavery was a bad thing.  

Answer 5

While I'm sorry for the people who were enslaved and to those who suffered certain atrocities at the hands of their masters, slavery was a necessary part of life and to a certain extent it still is. In terms of the big picture, I wouldn't say that it's a bad thing, It's a simple part of the social structure that will always be prevalent in society.

The lower classes are basically the foundation for every achievement throughout history so In a way the Europeans were right to enslave them. I'm not saying that they were morally or ethically right obviously, but looking at the bigger picture, in order to progress, it was a necessary evil.

I'm not just saying that about the african americans though, I'm that way inclined towards all slaves throughout history.

Answer 6

I don't see how slavery could ever be a good thing... is this a serious question?

It is bad. Why? Common sense. Simple ethics. It doesn't need an explanation. Slavery is barbaric. It denies a persons' rights and their humanity. And economically speaking, people need to be paid for their labor.  

Answer 7

In good ethics and morals, it was a bad thing.  Many human beings were forced into harsh labor, and dealt with cruel abuse.  If you look at the subject from the other side, it was a good thing.  It helped boost the American economy.  With out it, right now, where would we be?

Answer 8

In general,slavery is a bad act and must not be practiced...We humans are created only by god thus classes such as superiors,slave must not be practiced because he is the only superior and we are all equal in all aspects so don't act that as if you are the one that give life to the people around you which you treats as your OWN PROPERTY...Rememeber WE ALL JUST HUMANS CREATED BY GOD..

Answer 9

The Ancient Greeks held that Slavery immediately reduced a Man's Virtue by Half; To reduce a Man's Virtue by  Half can never be a Good thing; Only an Evil Thing.  So Slavery is an Evil Thing.

Answer 10

Without the use of slaves in our history, our economy and social structure would have developed very differently, and I dare say that the modern human rights movement would not be anywhere near as strong as it is.

So, slavery in itself is definately not good, but I think it changed society for the better.

Answer 11

i would say it may seems bad esp. to the cruelties and injustice inflicted on the enslaved. but on the other hand if we take a look at the world history, they did tend to shape america to a very good extend and that in turn affected our modern world.

Answer 12

Slavery is evil.  I don't care about the wealth acquired through slavery, that's no excuse.  If slaves were not available people can certainly find better ways of getting work done.  Paid laborers do better work than slaves anyway.  It's like Communism vs. Capitalism in one way.  Communist citizens are basically slaves and their work is poor because they don't have enough incentive.

Answer 13

I think, in principle, slavery is a bad thing but it's difficult to judge something that we can't see any remnants of anymore. In some ways it can be seen with a cold pragmatic approach- people needed workers etc but if you read "the narrative of Fredrick Douglas" where in the first line he tells you he has no idea how old he is- it's hard to see it as any more than barbaric "cattle herding".

Answer 14

No..Slavery is used because someone thinks that their life is more important than someone elses. They are more than happy to sacrifice the perceived 'lesser' life in the pursuit of profit or just because they are too lazy to do the work themselves.