By 1860, when the last census prior to the Civil War was taken, there were just under four million slaves in the United States. That figure reveals the truly fantastic growth of slavery in this country. There had been 700,000 in 1790. The million mark was reached in 1810. Twenty years later there were two million slaves, a figure which doubled again in the next three decades. The same census counted only 488,000 free Negroes in the United States, thus clearly showing how thoroughly the black race was subjugated in this country. . . .
To understand the institution of slavery as...
Source: Slavery, ©2003-10-01 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 3230 words.)
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