The Story of Mankind [166]
were not blind to these terrible conditions. They were
just helpless. Machinery had conquered the world by surprise
and it took a great many years and the efforts of thousands
of noble men and women to make the machine what it
ought to be, man's servant, and not his master.
Curiously enough, the first attack upon the outrageous
system of employment which was then common in all parts of
the world, was made on behalf of the black slaves of Africa
and America. Slavery had been introduced into the American
continent by the Spaniards. They had tried to use the
Indians as labourers in the fields and in the mines, but the
Indians, when taken away from a life in the open, had lain down
and died and to save them from extinction a kind-hearted priest
had suggested that negroes be brought from Africa to do the
work. The negroes were strong and could stand rough treatment.
Besides, association with the white man would give
them a chance to learn Christianity and in this way, they would
be able to save their souls, and so from every possible point of
view, it would be an excellent arrangement both for the kindly
white man and for his ignorant black brother. But with the
introduction of machinery there had been a greater demand for
cotton and the negroes were forced to work harder than ever
before, and they too, like the Indians, began to die under the
treatment which they received at the hands of the overseers.
Stories of incredible cruelty constantly found their way to
Europe and in all countries men and women began to agitate
for the abolition of slavery. In England, William Wilberforce
and Zachary Macaulay, (the father of the great historian whose
history of England you must read if you want to know how
wonderfully interesting a history-book can be,) organised a
society for the suppression of slavery. First of all they got a
law passed which made ``slave trading'' illegal. And after the
year 1840 there was not a single slave in any of the British
colonies. The revolution of 1848 put an end to slavery in the
French possessions. The Portuguese passed a law in the year
1858 which promised all slaves their liberty in twenty years
from date. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863 and in the
same year Tsar Alexander II returned to his serfs that liberty
which had been taken away from them more than two centuries
before.
In the United States of America the question led to grave
difficulties and a prolonged war. Although the Declaration
of Independence had laid down the principle that ``all men
were created free and equal,'' an exception had been made for
those men and women whose skins were dark and who worked
on the plantations of the southern states. As time went on, the
dislike of the people of the North for the institution of slavery
increased and they made no secret of their feelings. The southerners
however claimed that they could not grow their cotton
without slave-labour, and for almost fifty years a mighty debate
raged in both the Congress and the Senate.
The North remained obdurate and the South would not give
in. When it appeared impossible to reach a compromise, the
southern states threatened to leave the Union. It was a most
dangerous point in the history of the Union. Many things
``might'' have happened. That they did not happen was the
work of a very great and very good man.
On the sixth of November of the year 1860, Abraham Lincoln,
an Illinois lawyer, and a man who had made his own intellectual
fortune, had been elected president by the Republicans
who were very strong in the anti-slavery states. He
knew the evils of human bondage at first hand and his shrewd
common-sense told him that there was no room on the northern
continent for two rival nations. When a number of southern
states seceded and formed the ``Confederate States of America,''
Lincoln accepted the challenge. The Northern states
were called upon for
just helpless. Machinery had conquered the world by surprise
and it took a great many years and the efforts of thousands
of noble men and women to make the machine what it
ought to be, man's servant, and not his master.
Curiously enough, the first attack upon the outrageous
system of employment which was then common in all parts of
the world, was made on behalf of the black slaves of Africa
and America. Slavery had been introduced into the American
continent by the Spaniards. They had tried to use the
Indians as labourers in the fields and in the mines, but the
Indians, when taken away from a life in the open, had lain down
and died and to save them from extinction a kind-hearted priest
had suggested that negroes be brought from Africa to do the
work. The negroes were strong and could stand rough treatment.
Besides, association with the white man would give
them a chance to learn Christianity and in this way, they would
be able to save their souls, and so from every possible point of
view, it would be an excellent arrangement both for the kindly
white man and for his ignorant black brother. But with the
introduction of machinery there had been a greater demand for
cotton and the negroes were forced to work harder than ever
before, and they too, like the Indians, began to die under the
treatment which they received at the hands of the overseers.
Stories of incredible cruelty constantly found their way to
Europe and in all countries men and women began to agitate
for the abolition of slavery. In England, William Wilberforce
and Zachary Macaulay, (the father of the great historian whose
history of England you must read if you want to know how
wonderfully interesting a history-book can be,) organised a
society for the suppression of slavery. First of all they got a
law passed which made ``slave trading'' illegal. And after the
year 1840 there was not a single slave in any of the British
colonies. The revolution of 1848 put an end to slavery in the
French possessions. The Portuguese passed a law in the year
1858 which promised all slaves their liberty in twenty years
from date. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863 and in the
same year Tsar Alexander II returned to his serfs that liberty
which had been taken away from them more than two centuries
before.
In the United States of America the question led to grave
difficulties and a prolonged war. Although the Declaration
of Independence had laid down the principle that ``all men
were created free and equal,'' an exception had been made for
those men and women whose skins were dark and who worked
on the plantations of the southern states. As time went on, the
dislike of the people of the North for the institution of slavery
increased and they made no secret of their feelings. The southerners
however claimed that they could not grow their cotton
without slave-labour, and for almost fifty years a mighty debate
raged in both the Congress and the Senate.
The North remained obdurate and the South would not give
in. When it appeared impossible to reach a compromise, the
southern states threatened to leave the Union. It was a most
dangerous point in the history of the Union. Many things
``might'' have happened. That they did not happen was the
work of a very great and very good man.
On the sixth of November of the year 1860, Abraham Lincoln,
an Illinois lawyer, and a man who had made his own intellectual
fortune, had been elected president by the Republicans
who were very strong in the anti-slavery states. He
knew the evils of human bondage at first hand and his shrewd
common-sense told him that there was no room on the northern
continent for two rival nations. When a number of southern
states seceded and formed the ``Confederate States of America,''
Lincoln accepted the challenge. The Northern states
were called upon for