The Legacy Of America s History - 1671 Words

Abraham Lincoln described how â€Å"[a] house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved- I do not expect the house to fall- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or another† (Abraham). Lincoln believed that America was torn apart due to issues beyond the mere segregation of race. Slavery affected the lives of over 12.5 million African Americans, where only 10.7 million survived the Middle Passage while being brought to the United States (Jr., Henry). It is undeniable that the American system allowed innocent people to be treated and punished in this inhumane way. It is simply a major flaw in†¦show more content†¦Not only do the memories of slavery scar both the victims and readers emotionally, they also impact them psychologically by keeping the memories that they have from the past fresh in their minds for the rest of their life. Morrison’s purpose for writing this novel is for readers to be â€Å"thrown ruthlessly into an alien environment as the first step into a shared experience with the book s population—just as the characters were snatched from one place to another, from any place to any other, without preparation or defense† (xviii). In the novel Beloved, savage white slave owners inflict cruelty on the protagonists, leaving them unable to move on from the horrible memories of the past. Sethe, Denver, Paul D, and Baby Suggs are all haunted by the ghost of the past, keeping them from being recognized by others as human beings of all equal value. In the novel, Morrison makes it an essential point of the story to see the white slave owners’ political aspects for keeping slaves. Slavery was justifiable at the time because it was a crucial factor in keeping their industries up and running. Slavery was believed to have kept slaves in a â€Å"safe environment,† separate from the free world where they might cause harm or be harmed. After the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves within the territory of the United States, many slaves were