History+of+Slavery+in+the+United+States

Relate the progression of your group's discussion (not just what you discussed, but how you discussed it and in what order different points were made). Finish by reporting the conclusion(s) that your group came to, if any, and further questions or actions you recommended. //Please enter your response in the following format://


 * Reporter:**
 * Recorder:**
 * Class Period:**
 * Central Question:**


 * Reporter: Michael Marinelli**
 * Recorder: Amirah Townsend**
 * Class Period: 1**
 * Central Question: How is modern slavery connected to technology?**

Ijeoma started off the discussion by briefly saying how people can sometimes be called slaves to technology when they heavily rely on it and use it very often. Amirah then said she interpreted the question to be asking how slavery evolved with the evolution and growth of technology. She related it to US History by talking about the Industrial Revolution. Sedra agreed with Amirah and brought up the Cotton Gin. Ijeoma added onto what Sedra said by saying that the institution of slavery in the southern states was dying out until the Cotton Gin was invented which brought slavery back into popularity. Amirah then changed the track to discussing the evolution of sex slavery in modern and non-modern U.S. She also brought up perceptions of how women have changed. Emely talked about how pornography is now prevalent in our society and that sex slaves can be parts of the porn industry. Then Amirah asked if adult film stars are sex trafficked. Michael said the exploitation of women is used both in pornography and prostitution. He said that the sex worker industry is comprised of both sex slaves and men/women who consented. This led the group to the discussion of how sex slaves are brought into slavery. Emely said that traffickers search for those who are physically, mentally, and/or emotionally vulnerable because they are easier to exploit. Then Amirah asked about child marriage and whether or not that is slavery. Sedra said that child marriage is slavery because a lot of children are bought from the families (dowries).Then Michael added that if a child spouse is forced into sex or forced to perform their "duties" that could be considered slavery. Our group never got the chance to discuss any actions to take because we were discussing the evolution of slavery (mostly sex) up until the timer went off.

We didn't exactly come to a consensus on the question. The main argument against was that working in prison is punishment for a crime, and therefore they don't deserve quite the same right. A student doesn't get paid for having to scrub a teacher's boards for detention, but that isn't considered slavery. On top of that, prisoners need SOMETHING to do while in prison. The counter argument was that scrubbing a board and doing manual labor (for many more hours) are on very different levels. Lauren brought up the point that they do get paid very little (far under minimum wage) but then are charged for room and board in prison at exorbitant rates, thus taking on a lot of debt. Once they get out of prison, they still hold this debt, forcing them to do illegal things like enter the drug trade in order to pay it off, which only serves to send them back to prison. We brought the 13th Amendment into the conversation. The first clause states that "Neither slavery nor involuntary service, //except as punishment for a crime whereof the the party shall have been duly convicted//, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This means that forced labor in prisons IS in fact constitutional. However, this clause seems contradictory to the rest of the Constitution. We also added that slavery, both then and now, is affected by race.
 * Reporter: Ben Baitman**
 * Recorder: Julius Gingles**
 * Class Period: 5**
 * Central Question: Is slavery present in the U.S. prison system?**

We said that slavery in the ancient days used to be a bi-product of war, but eventually it turned into investments and a source of monetary gain. It became more versatile as technology developed further. In modern times, acquiring slaves is easier and can be done just by going on the internet. The industry doesn't necessarily contribute to slavery, but there is no way of knowing where it came from. Illegal child pornography does, and modern technology allows the people holding the slaves to use webcams for pornography through web chats. The labor that prisoners do in prison technically isn't slavery because the labor acts as a punishment for their crimes, and they also receive payment for the labor even if its less than minimum wage. Although the present American prison system does not contribute; past war camps for prisoners in many countries have had slavery for the prisoners, since they were enemies of war and there was no regulation.
 * Reporter: Emma Eklund**
 * Recorder: Mordecai Obeng**
 * Class Period: 5**
 * Central Question: Why did slavery escalate?**
 * Central Question: Does pornography contribute to contemporary slavery?**
 * Central Question: To what extent does the present American prison system contribute to contemporary slavery?**