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The
Plaza and Old Slave Market, St. Augustine, Florida. The building with
the open front is the old slave market of the oldest city in the United
States, St. Augustine. Many southern cities had slave markets like this
one, where men, women, and children were sold at auction. The sales
were conducted just as auctions of cattle are now managed. The highest
"bidder" (the man offering the most money) became the owner of the negro
being sold. Sometimes mothers and children, husbands and wives were
separated forever. You must not suppose that this was always the case,
or that slaves were always badly treated, for that is not true. Many
Southern people kept their slave families together and treated them
so well that the slaves loved their owners. Slaves were first brought
to this country in 1619. Later the invention of the cotton gin made
cotton raising very profitable and slave help was necessary in the fields.
This made the Southern people unwilling to give up their slaves, for
they believed that they could not succeed without slave labor. Since
the freeing of all slaves the South has grown more and more prosperous.
More money is made in raising cotton now, with free, paid laborers,
than was ever made when slaves did the work. In every country where
both ways have been tried, "paid labor" has proven more profitable than
slave labor. Why is this true? Name some great men and women of both
the North and South who were opposed to slavery. St. Augustine was settled
by Spaniards in 1565. Not far from this old slave market is the spot
where Ponce de Leon landed in his search for "The fountain of youth."
The city is now a fashionable winter resort. |
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Photographer: | Unknown | Date: | Unknown |
Publisher & City: | Keystone View Company: Meadville, Pa., New York, NY., Chicago, Ill., London, England | ||
Series & Number: | 26980 |
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Exploring
Florida: Social Studies Resources for Students and Teachers
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College of Education, University of South Florida © 2008.