Why was it so difficult to stop the international trade of slaves?

The trans-Atlantic slave trade plays a key role in the development of the history of this nation, and the history of the world. The film Amazing Grace depicts this segment of history with great relevance and intense passion. After viewing this depiction, I've mustered up a few reasons as to why I think the abolition of slave trade took as long as it did.

The reasons that are typically sited as prolonging the abolition are important to note. First off, the economic drive is a significant factor. Slavery was essentially the backbone to the original U.S. economy. The economic and social structure that existed allowed for money to be made while leisure was had. People understood that if slavery was abolished, so too would be the abolishment of high class living for many. As regrettable as this may seem, it is an inevitable fact that we like to be comfortable in the way we live, and slavery gave comfort to people who may not have otherwise been so.

The economically sound debate also argued that if Britain were to reject further participation in the slave trade, France would surely step in to reap existing benefits. Essentially, if they weren't the ones committing injustice, somebody would, and why should they miss out on the prize? It just made sense.

Another controversial rationale was religion. As we have examined in class, there are many people who have found ways to interpret the Bible as supporting slavery. Slaves existed in the Bible and there are justifications for upholding this tradition. On the same token, it was a fashionable notion to believe that Christians were far superior to any other sector of people. And that as Christians they were the only religion truly worthy of being called human beings. This extreme view augmented the perception of Blacks as an innately inferior race.

As human beings we are creatures of habit. We are prone to mimicking, following, and adopting what surrounds us. It is no surprise that the tradition of slavery was certainly a delay in the abolition of it. The very fact that children grew up with slaves enabled them to become desensitized to its tragedy and encouraged them of its regularity. Many people thought it would be unfair for them to abolish slavery after so many generations had the privilege of being its beneficiary. Oh the irony...

One factor that I thought of as I watched Amazing Grace was the truth that sometimes the people who have the will may not always have the way. Wilberforce certainly had the will to abolish the slave trade, and fortunately he had the way paved for him as a highly respected man in the political sphere. However, this combination is often hard to come by. I was reminded of the film/novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This story is based in WWII Nazi Germany and is about a young family, led by the father, a Commandant to Hitler. The wife in this story, however, is anti-Nazi and strongly opposes the efforts of her husband. She had the will to change injustice. Unfortunately, as the wife of a commander, and a woman in a predominantly patriarchal society, the way for her to influence was not paved so clearly. Likewise, there was opposition to the slave trade in the day of its existence, but the opportunity for that opposition to combat evil prolonged the abolition.

My final argument for why the abolition of the slave trade took as long as it did comes back to the beginnings of our studies in this class, three words: protracted political debate. There is no denying that protraction was a significant and recurrent characteristic of our founding fathers. Although the founding fathers were not necessarily the direct abolitionists, the trend remains. It is in the process of coming to unanimous decisions, it is in the belief that there is power in the people and thus democracies subside, it is in the practice of discussion and debate, of convincing and proving. Here we wait patiently, yes. But here we find decisions. Here we make changes. Here we abolish. It is here that is protracted political debate.

Due to tradition, economic advantages, opportunity (or the lack thereof), religious misconceptions, and protracted political debate the abolition of the slave trade took a while to come to pass. However, let us not forget that the total abolition of slavery has yet to be completed. We are still fighting the battle of slavery, not in the same way as years passed, but still so very alive.