This is for intermediate students, so I would put it between "normal speed" and "not too fast please" :)
An American accent would be perfect, thanks!
Americans were enslaved in the United States from 1619 to 1865. Approximately 12 million Africans were stolen from their homes and packed on ships, which could hold up to 600 packed like sardines. Many died or jumped overboard during the Middle Passage to America. The Middle Passage was a route that transported slaves to Africa. The route started in Europe, stopped in Africa, then continued to North and South America before returning to Europe. The 1787 Three-Fifths Compromise counted slaves as 3/5 of a person for congressional purposes. Slaves could not vote, however. They were also banned from learning how to read and forbidden to marry outside of their race. Congress outlawed the African Slave Trade in 1808, but the domestic slave trade continued in the US. Slavery wasn't exclusive to the South: in 1740, one-fifth of New York City's population was composed of slaves. Enslaved Africans comprised 13 percent of the total US population by 1860. Virginia had the highest number of enslaved Africans, followed by Georgia. Slaves made up 55 percent of the total population of Mississippi in 1860. Enslaved Africans weren't content with their deplorable living conditions in the US. One estimate puts the number of slave revolts at 250. One of the most notable was the Nat Turner slave revolt in 1831, where he led a group of followers and killed approximately 50 whites. Abraham Lincoln, who was elected President in 1860, was morally opposed to slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which ordered the freedom of all slaves in the southern states. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 because of a long-standing controversy over slavery, and nearly 180,000 black men fought for the Union. The 13th Amendment finally abolished slavery in the United States on December 6, 1865.
Thank you so much, bigk2018 :)