Section I: Introduction
The subject of history has always been interesting for scholars and writers. Undoubtedly, American history has a significant importance and is of particular interest for many historians and authors because of its rich background and vastness. Slavery has a deep association with the American history as I have always heard numerous stories on the subject of slavery in the country. In this paper, the history of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is discussed in detail. The subject of history selected for this essay is slavery in the PNW region. The reason why I am interested in the topic of slavery in the PNW region is because of the fact that as I have aforementioned that I have always heard different stories about slavery in PNW however I did not get a chance to study or analyze them thoroughly. Therefore, this assignment will help me to gain firsthand knowledge regarding the subject.
Section II: Subject Encyclopedia
The subject encyclopedia that is selected for this essay is ‘The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7’. Junius P. Rodriguez edits the encyclopedia. According to one of the article entries entitled, ‘Amerindian Slavery, Pacific Northwest’, it is described that the region of the Pacific Northwest varied in various forms. Since different states including southeastern Alaska, to northern California, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, therefore, there is a difference in language, religious practices, cultural and social organizations, etc.
According to this article, Amerindian slavery is entirely different from the usual phenomenon of slavery. Slaves in the Pacific Northwest were treated as subordinate members of the society as they were allowed to marry, etc. However, since PNW was a primary trade route to the inland of the country, slaves were among the valuable goods that were traded by numerous PNW tribes. Furthermore, the entry also talks about slave raids that were the most common type of warfare in the PNW region. Many tribes traveled miles to raid for slaves from South to the North (Boxberger, 1997).
Another article entry from the same encyclopedia entitled, ‘Amerindian Slavery General’ talks about the slavery in the northwest region of the United States in general. The author has defined the enslavement of Indians by the European-Americans. The author discusses that the enslavement of Indian started with the arrival of Columbus in the country. It should be noted that the author of this article has different views than the first author as he is emphasizing on the idea that European-Americans forced these slaves to work in the fields and to mine gold and other metals. He further reveals that many of them died due to hazardous environment and weak and harsh treatment (Kilroe, 1997).
The third article entry selected from this encyclopedia is, ‘North American Indigenous Peoples, Slavery Among’. According to the author of this article, the only region where real slavery was present in the United States was the Pacific Northwest region. It should be noted that warfare was very frequent in the pacific North America; a typical outcome of such warfare in this region was the taking of captives. These captives were usually tortured and sometimes killed. The author speaks about the fact that almost every PNW state has at least a few slaves including British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. Slaves did not have any right or privilege while their masters had complete physical control over them, which resulted in their deaths as well (Donald, 1997).
Another article in the encyclopedia entitled, ‘Northwest Ordinance’ defines the law known as the Northwest Ordinance that was enacted on 13th of July 1787. The US Congress promulgated the ordinance in order to address the growing challenges that were faced by slaves in the region. According to this ordinance, the Northwest Territories should lay a new foundation for equality through which education should made be public while slavery should be outlawed. The author further discusses that the problem of slavery reappeared with the formation of Oregon during the 1850’s before the Civil War (Phillips, 1997).
In order to present the fact that slavery was present throughout the United States; the encyclopedia gave some article entries that highlighted issues of slavery in other parts of Northern America. According to the author of the article entitled, ‘The Enlightenment and the Atlantic Abolitionist Movement’, slavery was spreading across the United States as sugar cultivation was increasing. The 17th century United States enslaved African Americans as forced laborers to work in their desired fields. Unfortunately, the author reveals, ‘by the late seventeenth century slavery was the legally sanctioned and commonly accepted status of Africans throughout the colonies in British North America’ (Rodriguez, 1997, p. 21). The article also talks about a few laws and policies that were introduced and ratified later to overcome the issue of slavery in the country (Rodriguez, 1997, pp. 20-22).
The article entry, ‘Comparative Slavery in the Americas’ has discussed the modern slavery techniques in the western hemisphere of the United States. According to the author, the leaders of these colonies turned the African slaves into labors to fulfill their agricultural needs. Furthermore, the author of this article has also illustrated the type of work and the conditions in which the slaves were forced to perform their duties. The author states, ‘In Northern British America, slaves became jacks-of-all-trades.’ It is also discussed that the church did not intervened in these matters and took little interest in the subject of slavery (Kamoie, 1997).
Section III
The primary sources for this essay are selected from Jstor. Jstor is a digital library that houses primary sources, including journal articles, researches, interviews, books, etc. Jstor currently has work of more than 900 researchers and publishers and contains more than 1900 journal articles. The content of the archives is open to many individuals for the purpose of data research. The street address of the archive is presented below.
http://www.jstor.org/
The work of Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown in the field of Indian slavery in the Pacific Northwest are crucial. For this reason, their article, ‘Indian Slavery in the Pacific Northwest’ has been selected for this essay. The authors have written dozens of book on the subject and have first-hand knowledge regarding it. In this article, they assembled and organized all the previous data and compiled it into a useful form. They emphasized how slavery was common and what were the practices. In short, this article provides raw information regarding slavery in PNW.
Another article selected from the archive is Indian Slavery in Pacific Northwest by Elsie Frances Dennis. The article is in three parts that make it easy to understand the entire history of slavery in the PNW. The author has talked about how slavery was rooted in these areas as different tribes had their chiefs, and slavery was a common practice. He further classified among good and bad slaves and differentiated between male and female slaves. Thus, the article is a major source from this archive.
Section IV
The book, ‘Indians of the Pacific Northwest: A History’ by Robert H. Ruby and John Arthur Brown, talks about slavery in the PNW region. It is told that more than 150 tribes inhabited Washington, Idaho, and Oregon during 19th century. The book contains a history of slavery in this region from the 1750’s to 1900. It is a valuable resource for both scholars and readers. Another book, ‘Indian slavery in the Pacific Northwest’ by the same authors has also talked about the issue of slavery in this region. Since the authors presented more than dozen books on this subject therefore, they submitted in a series form. This book highlights slavery in PNW during the early 17th century (Schwantes, 1996; Ruby & Brown, 1988).
The third book selected for this essay is, ‘The Pacific Northwest: an interpretive history’ by Carlos A. Schwantes. The book provides an in-depth analysis on the subject of slavery in the PNW region. The book presents more than 100 maps, illustrations, figures, etc. that are drawn from different archives on the subject of slavery in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The fourth book selected for this essay is ‘Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery’ by Randall M. Miller and John David Smith. The book is a complete guide to slavery in the United States particularly in the PNW region. Therefore, the book is of vital importance.
Section V
The journal article Oregon’s Past published in Publishers Weekly (2014) talks about slavery in the state of Oregon. It also presents a profile of its author lawyer Philip Margolin. The article primary focus is on the history of slavery in the Oregon. The author has tried to discuss important issues of slavery by discussing Oregon’s history. Since, slavery was an important issue in the state of Oregon, and Oregon is one of the major parts of Pacific Northwest therefore, the article has considerable importance as it presents vital information regarding the subject of slavery in one of the PNW states, i.e. Oregon (Margolin, 2014).
Section VI
It has been discussed in the introduction that I have always heard about the topic of slavery in the United States, specifically Pacific Northwest from the very early age. However, I did not get a chance to conduct a study or research on the subject to broaden my horizon on this issue and increase my knowledge. This assignment certainly allowed me to do it in a profound manner. The issue of slavery in the Pacific Northwest is of vital importance and has a deep history. By studying the work of different scholars, historians, and researchers, I was able to get first-hand information and develop some sound conclusions regarding slavery in PNW. It should be noted that the work presented by all the historians, including all primary and secondary sources in this paper are of vital importance and has helped me learn the history in a practical and useful manner.
References
Boxberger, D. L. (1997). Amerindian Slaver; Pacific Northwest. In J. P. Rodriguez, The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 (p. 36). Santa Barbara: ABC-clio.
Donald, L. (1997). North American Indigenous Peoples, Slavery Among. In J. P. Rodriguez, The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 (pp. 471-473). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Kamoie, L. C. (1997). Comparative Slavery in the Americas’. In J. P. Rodriguez, The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 (pp. 179-180). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Kilroe, P. A. (1997). Amerindian Slavery General’ . In J. P. Rodriguez, The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 (pp. 33-35). Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio.
Margolin, P. (2014). OREGON'S PAST. Publishers Weekly., 267(1), 26-27.
Phillips, J. (1997). Northwest Ordinance’ . In J. P. Rodriguez, The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 (p. 474). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Rodriguez, J. P. (1997). The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio.
Ruby, R. H., & Brown, J. A. (1988). Indians of the Pacific Northwest: A History. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.
Schwantes, C. A. (1996). The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. Nebraska: U of Nebraska Press.
