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Essay On African American Slavery

1453 Words6 Pages

Slavery and the Making of America African Americans had a great role in constructing America. They had to endure a continuous fight for human rights, undergo unbelievable humiliation, and were treated extremely unkind. They had to sustain what was a test of the human soul and through it all they moved forward. This story describes what was endured during their fight to survive in America. The first eleven enslaved people, all male, were brought by the Dutch West Indian Company. They were owned by the company, not by individuals and were bought for the purpose of building the colony. The slaves did not know if they would be free again. In the settlements of Virginia, Massachusetts and New Amsterdam slavery was undefined. There were no laws, …show more content…

The most valuable workers were men younger than twenty, and the second most valuable were women younger than twenty. Children were young and inexpensive and they would grow up and live a long time. The slaves who had died on route were probably one quarter to one third of those who had actually boarded the ship. Those who finally survived were taken to Charleston where they were waxed down with oil, fed, and put on the auction block. Survival took many forms, for the slaves. Some pretended to be ignorant or represented their masters' interests. However, many refused to conform. They maintained their dignity by drawing strength from their spirituality and culture. The slaves may not have spoken the same language, or been rivals in their homelands, they would come together in the new world. Slavery was probably unique in every region.it flourished, in Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Barbados. But South Carolina was probably the most industrial form of slavery, the slaves were almost worked to death. They usually went to work in the morning at sunrise and a day's task in the field would be to hoe a quarter of an acre, which was 105 feet square. The more money being made by the white elites, the more it was in their interests to make the slave system something that would maintain the comforts of the few. So the incentive was for those who ran the society to set up extensive policing

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Owners for years were able to maintain slavery through consistent importation/trading of slaves, mental tricks and a plethora of slave codes that kept slaves/negroes(free blacks) inferior to white counterparts. With the value of cash crops increasing throughout the nation, owners wanted to make the most money possible. In

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This went against the right, “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. Slaves had nothing else to rely on other than to keep on working. Another way slaves were denied basic human

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Also, as the demand for cotton grew, the slave trade grew too. Between 1790 and 1810, proximately 20,000 African and African Americans were brought to South Carolina. Life on a plantation for a slave was easier said than done. Slaves were under the constant, eye of the overseer and were disciplined for many things. Including, being late, not working fast enough, running away, or defying their authority.

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One of the ways they would have resisted their enslavement was by running away, which would be one of the more risky ways. They would try to escape their plantation in hopes of becoming free; they would risk being caught and put into harsh working conditions. This topic matters because it gives a reason as to why there is racism today. People back then understood that enslaving one another was a bad thing, and so they made an excuse by claiming that people with darker skin colors were less than human. Even though slavery is abolished today, we are still facing certain repercussions from the excuses used to justify slavery, which is the cause of racism against black people.

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Unit 7: DBQ Essay Introduction In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation applied to Southern states only, it politically would not apply to the Northern and Border States; so to have another try at abolishing slavery; in 1864, congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery everywhere, including in the South. Of course this still was not enough for the South, their whole economy is based off of Slavery. Finally, in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, now all the slaves that are free, had to be treated like citizens (1). To avoid giving freedmen full citizenship, southern states began to pass a series of discriminatory state laws collectively known as black codes.

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1786 Words | 8 Pages

For example, slaves had limited supervision if they worked on the Savannah river as a boatman. If talented enough at these professions, some slave owners would allow their slaves to work jobs in exchange for money. This is how very few slaves became free. They paid their way off of the plantation and could even pay to free their family. Slaves used their quarters to create a little community between them.

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514 Words | 3 Pages

African-Americans were slaves, that were brought to the U.S to work for a master. The slaves were not paid, but they were treated terrible. The master did not pay they, however they weren't treated good. Slave life, was a big deal in the 1800's because husband and wife could be sold to a different owner.

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They worked mostly on the tobacco, rice and indigo plantations of the southern. They served as indentured servants (http://www.ushistory.org/us/6c.asp). Also, slavery was important because it helped build the economy of the colonies. It begins when John Hawkins, start the British

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All this would propose that many slaves tried to rebel. In many initial American colonies, slaves made up an important chunk of the population. Intelligent slave masters did not take believe in the myth that Africans slaves were naturally submissive. They knew that, if they continued to torture their slaves, they would face the likelihood of a riot and change. The key point is realizing that racism in American history wasn’t a natural thing.

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The introduction of slavery to the New World was an important aspect that shaped and influenced American culture to what it is today. The introduction of slaves set up the scene for white superiority and domination amongst American society. Slavery started in 1619, when Africans were brought from Africa over to the New World, through a transport system called the “Middle Passage”, to serve as free labor for tobacco production. African slaves became essential to tobacco production and the economy, as the Native Americans that were previously used as slaves, died off from smallpox and other European diseases. With no other option for free laborers, they looked to Africans.

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The Life of a Slave Slavery, as inhumane as it sounds, was during the 19th century, a legal institution that literally made a whole race inferior to another. Sadly, slavery was a practice that has been around for a long while and wasn’t considered to be an injustice. Slaves proved to be an aid to production for the American colonies through the 1700s to the 1900s. Slaves were forced to do hard labor in fields with terrible working conditions regardless of what gender they were. Slaves were degraded and treated so badly that many stayed and endured their ill fate.

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Have you ever wondered how life was for the slaves in the South? Slaves in the South suffered through many consequences. For example, they suffered through many whippings with cow skin if they didn't obey their master, they also got separated from their family mostly the fathers, so, they can be sold to a very mean slave owner. Even if they were living a miserable life on the farms, they had their own culture and they managed to even get married in the farmland or where they worked. Not only did the slaves live on the farm.

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662 Words | 3 Pages

The Exploitation of African American Slaves African Americans have faced oppression for decades. Today oppression on this race comes from the many controlling systems of the government and lower standards of care for densely populated communities of this race. Education, healthcare, housing, are some of the ways the quality of life of African Americans is less. In the 1600s towards the 1860s slavery on America became a system of control and a power struggle for African Americans.

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

Being enslaved was not an easy job for African Americans. African Americans survived slavery through their connection with their culture. They then went on to contribute to the economic and social development of the South and America. African Americans survived the institution of slavery and Africanized the American South. They helped free themselves by sticking together as a family, resisting, as well as wanting slavery to change.

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1618 Words | 7 Pages

Many tried to destroy them, but slaves stayed strong and found ways to escape their injustices. The first Africans to reach America landed in Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America. For 250 years, many Africans and African-Americans found ways to resist slavery, ranging from hindrances to violent outbreaks. Resistance to slavery came in many forms. On Southern plantations, some slaves executed small passive acts of resistance, while others ran away.

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