Essay Writing Instruction The Intro Paragraph
Prompt: From 1775 to 1830, many African Americans gained freedom from slavery, yet during the same period the institution of slavery expanded. Explain why BOTH of those changes took place. Analyze the ways that BOTH free African Americans and enslaved African Americans responded to the challenges confronting them.
Intro Paragraph: Example 1 Since 1619, African slavery has existed in America. America, founded on profit in its Southern colonies, used the institution of slavery to make vast economic strides and become a leading agricultural producer. However, the “peculiar institution” was the leading hypocrisy of the newly founded United States of America. Slaves under the new Constitution counted as 3/5 a person in a nation whose declaration had stated that “all men are created equal.” In the years 1775-1830, many changes occurred in American society that greatly effected the African American population: technological, economic, social, and political. Slavery in the United States expanded for economic and social reasons, while an increased number of African Americans gained freedom for political and social reasons. However, whether free or slave, all African Americans faced intense racism from white society.
Intro Paragraph: Example 2 • Slavery was a problematic institution in early America after the first slave was introduced across the Atlantic Passage in 1619. By 1775 slavery was changing. Slavery expanded between 1775 and 1830 despite the fact that many slaves also gained their freedom during that time period, yet enslaved and freedmen still had obstacles and dealt with them in different ways.
Intro Paragraph: Example 3 In the period from 1775 to 1830, many African Americans gained freedom from slavery. On the other hand, the institution of slavery in general was expanded. Each group of African Americans, the slaves and the free blacks, had a unique set of challenges facing them. These changes for African Americans during this time greatly influenced the path of history and the challenges that each group would face.