2. Facts
1. Established In Virginia
• Slavery was officially established in Virginia in 1654, when
Anthony Johnson, a black man, convinced a court that his
servant (also black) John Casor was his for life.
3. 2. Disastrous Invention
• In the second part of the eighteenth century, slavery was
beginning to disappear naturally in the United States
• However in 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (a device
for processing raw cotton). This meant that a single man could
process fifty times more cotton in a day than previously, so
slavery was re-established.
4. 3. The Word
• The word “slave” comes to us from Byzantine Greek
“sklabos” which was the name for the Slavic people.
The reason for this is that the Vikings used to capture
the Slavs and sell them to the Romans as slaves.
5. 4. The Bible and Slavery
• The Bible does not expressly condone or forbid slavery. In the
New Testament, Jesus heals a slave and commends his owner
for his faith.
• He does not take the time to condemn the slave owner for
having a slave, nor at any point does he try to suggest that
slavery is wrong.
6. 5. Slavery Today
• According to studies done by anti-slavery groups, there are
currently more slaves today than at any time in history!
• It is believed that there are around 27 million people in slavery
right now.
• A study done at Berkeley University estimates that there are
around 10,000 slaves in the United States at the moment.
