Emancipation Proclamation and Modern Day Slavery

This past September marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed American slaves. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation that he would order the emancipation of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America

Most people think that we've come a long way since then and slavery is a thing of the past. But sadly, there are more slaves now than at any other time in human history. In fact, there are more slaves in the world today than were seized from Africa during four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
 

By definition, Human Trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings mainly for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
 

During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, it is estimated that about 12 million slaves were shipped across the Atlantic to the Portuguese, British, French, Spanish, Dutch, and the Americans. By 1860 the slave population in the United States had reached 4 million.
 

By comparison it is estimated that 27 million people are currently enslaved throughout the world.
 

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry (Drug trafficking is the the first.) The National Human Trafficking Resource Center estimates it's a $32 billion industry.
 

An average slave in the American South in 1850 cost the equivalent of $40,000 in today’s money. By comparison, a slave today costs an average of just $90.
 

In 1850 it was difficult to capture a slave and transport them to the US. By comparison, today millions of economically and socially vulnerable people around the world are being trafficked in many different ways. The internet plays a large factor in this. Human trafficking is a highly sophisticated, organized crime and it is very lucrative. A drug can be sold only once, but a person can be sold over and over.
 

It's not just happening in "some other country." It's happening right here in the United States. The US Department of Justice reports that human trafficking has occurred in nearly every state of the nation and in 91 different cities.  It affects foreigners as well as Americans, adults and young children and both male and female. 

 

This information can be overwhelming.  It can leave you feeling like "What can I do?"  My suggestion is to start by educating yourself on the subject.  In future posts I hope to help with options for doing this.  My plan is to share a list of recommended books you can read on the subject, documentaries that are available and organizations to support. We must first educate ourselves and make others aware that this is happening.  Unless people become informed and aware, this horrendous practice will continue to grow.