The Slavery Chronicles : The Oppressed vs. The Oppressed

America is known and referred to as “The land of the free and the home of the brave”.  Let us ignore the “home of the brave” part of this famed song lyric and focus on the first half of it, the land of the free. This claim can be disputed to an extent. In my partially biased thinking, when I hear “land of the free”, the first (and obvious) time period that automatically jumps into my head is the enslavement of African Americans in the southern region of America. Is it possible that the song writer forgot to put “except slavery” in their lyric writing? I am not sure. Slavery, simply put, is a battle of the OPPRESSED vs. the OPPRESSORS, similar to a smaller individual being bullied by a larger individual. 

In 1861 eleven states broke away from the US forming the Confederate States of America, which were pro-slavery, (or pro-savage as I refer to it). A Civil War ensued between The Northern United States who were pro-abolition (wanting to eliminate slavery) and The Confederate states that were pro-slavery. It can be said that the Abolitionists were the Oppressed while the Pro-Slavery clowns (yes I said clowns) were the Oppressors.  

Journalism played a major role during the slavery epidemic, as referring to the chapter 2 on Abolition in Mightier than the Sword. Journalists made their feelings and points of view known through their press releases. Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy gave his life for the cause. As an editor of an Abolition weekly paper, The Observer, he battled pro- slavery forces constantly. Can you imagine spending thousands of dollars to keep replacing your laptop computer because an opposition keeps destroying your property because your views differ? This is what happened with Lovejoy three times. Pro-slavery beings destroyed his printing presses (the back in the day version of a Mac-book). As he purchased his fourth printing press, he was brutally shot in defense of his property. The murder of Lovejoy proved to actually be groundbreaking as he was hailed as a martyr among the abolition journalists. 

The most influential Abolitionist Editor was a man named William Lloyd Garrison. What initially shocked me about my study of Mr. Garrison was that he was white. While they existed during this era, white abolitionists were not the most popular. The weapon he used to shoot his message across the board was the Boston weekly known as The Liberator. Garrison, as well as other Abolition editors all preached the same common theme, SLAVERY IS IMMORAL AND IS A SIN. Garrison’s reputation and message began to spread like wildfire and he all of a sudden was America’s Most Wanted. The Georgia Legislation as well as a group of Mississippi put out bounties on Garrison ranging in the thousands of dollars (a lot of money in the 1800s obviously), and in some parts of the country, such as Washington D.C., blacks were not allowed to receive The Liberator. Imagine if America had this response before the September 11^th terrorist attacks took place, but that is another topic.  The constant bounties and death threats from pro-slavery forces did not stop Garrison from spreading his anti- slavery message. As the 1850s came about, Garrison was not alone in his battle against slavery; other sources such as The New York Tribune & The Chicago Tribune became pro- abolition.  When slavery was officially abolished at the end of the Civil War, Garrison ceased releasing The Liberator, the mission was accomplished. 

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                As stated earlier slavery is a battle of the oppressed vs. the oppressor/s; with the oppressors being the dominant force. It is easy to feel sorry for the oppressed in the case of African American slavery when so many were beaten, raped and killed over a span of 400 years. What about the oppressor in this situation? Who exactly is the oppressor in this particular situation? And is it right to automatically label the oppressor the “bad guy”? The Oppressor usually gets overlooked because they were the ones or parties invoking the damage.  I believe in the case of U.S. slavery, the oppressor would have to be the U.S Government themselves, the same people who proudly promote “The Land of the Free and The home of the brave”. The Governing body of the Confederate states used the arguments of economic reasons and “religious teaching” to justify slavery. I personally feel it was selfish, and simply because the whites of the south of that time were complete lazy bums. In no way do I feel sorry for the Oppressor in the situation when America was built on the principles of “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Stated in the Declaration of Independence) & "All men are created equal” (Stated in the constitution).

Slavery still exists even today as we go about our daily lives. Although it may seem invisible to the naked eye, slavery has come to cleverly disguise itself from society’s realizations. You see that diamond in the ring on your mother’s hand, or that celebrities wear today? Africans in Sierra Leone are held captive and turned into slaves to dig these diamonds out of the rough interior of the earth. 

Kanye West - (C) 2005 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC

And what about the Atrocious recent scandal with former Penn State Football coach Jerry Sandusky turning little boys into his personal sex slaves. This is a vile and graphic, yet perfect example of the Oppressed vs. the Oppressor. Slavery has and will continue to be a controversial topic in the world, point blank period.