The Essence of Social Slavery

Slavery was one of the most reproachable periods in American history,  characterized by cruelty, injustice, and negative attitudes that persist even into the modern era. Slavery then, existing for the economic stability of the agrarian communities in the American South, persisted through post-war acts of discrimination against African Americans, only here slavery was just a little more subtle, seeing how as it was illegal. The injustice during the enslavement of African Americans, and what could be considered slavery in a different and seemingly less pronounced form, promoted inequality over distinct levels. While the governmentally sanctioned mistreatment of former ‘slaves’ was then after the war condemned, Americans, especially in the south, persisted to persecute African Americans in a variety of avenues in society in such a manner that I refer to those set of circumstances as a kind of social slavery.

The cultural attitudes in the south had been influenced by the long-standing hierarchies, both social and racial, subsequently impeding the white southerner’s mental outlook regarding the shift from blacks’ enslavement to citizenship. It is an important distinction to refer to African American enslavement as such, and not slavery, which could imply that at some point the subjugated were, in fact, slaves. No person has ever been a slave, for no person has ever been lesser than the rest of humanity, the benchmark of personhood is invariably observed to be in every human. However, the reality remained that such truths were inconceivable to many people in the US at the time, understandable given their child-rearing, yet nevertheless inexcusable.

Any fundamental change cannot occur in a night, only after the initiative can be realized amongst the entirety of the people can this change make true advancement. The bigoted members of southern society, raised only knowing the institution of slavery as beneficial, would more than likely be disgruntled after the ratification of the 13th and 14th amendments, unjustifiably so, but a reasonable assumption nonetheless. I believe that the efforts imposed by former slave owners to diminish the rights granted to African Americans were rooted in their superiority complexes. The whole situation strikes one as rather petty given the backstory, this pettiness, unfortunately, seems to have been adopted by the following generations, giving rise to the racism we still see today.

Sources:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-era/reconstruction/a/life-after-slavery
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction