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How Slavery Has Shaped Our Society Today

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Slavery has always been a very important part of history. It is what shaped our society today and contributed to the many ways we live our lives. Slaves were shipped forcefully from Africa to North America, to help colonize the New World. The transatlantic slave trade carried Africans to the Americas, where they worked on plantations and performed hard labor. The produced goods would then be transported back to Europe to be sold for profit. Slaves helped boost the economy and develop societies, in what is now called the United States. During these significant progressions, slaves endured harsh treatment and were torn away from their homes and entered into horrific conditions. Most slaves within Africa lost their freedom because they were either captured in war, kidnapped, or were enslaved …show more content…

Slaves had no legal rights and were under complete control of their masters. Masters would rarely be prosecuted if they killed a slave, and those who were found guilty only had to pay a fine. Slaves, on the other hand, were punished severely for minor crimes. They would be whipped, burned, or disfigured for stealing, running away, or if they rebelled (Goldfield, The American Journey). All the while, slaves manage to maintain some of their traditions that carry on today. They sang African songs and created other forms of tools that flourished all throughout North America. The white people in the south were investing big in crops, such as tobacco and cotton. They brought slaves to work on their lands because it would be cheaper and more easy. Africans were examined like objects and sold to different colonists, often separating from their families. Africans faced daunting challenges as they entered the New World. They were isolated from their homeland and fought to sustain cultural traditions in a new environment, where they underwent brutal

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As morally reprehensible as this may be, buying slaves was a much better deal for plantation owners, as they would no longer be required to give up land. Additionally, the Africans who were sold as slaves could not communicate amongst themselves, as they spoke different languages. This meant that they could not organize an uprising like the white indentured servants had, back in 1676. Black slaves in America were influential for several reasons: first, they would form the black population of the United States, a group with tremendous cultural importance to our country, and secondly because their labor would drive the United States economy for generations. As the first place in America to

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Slavery was different in each colony, slavery in the southern British colonies was mostly plantation-based and slaves were forced to be property to their owner their whole lives and they were treated horribly. Slavery in the northern British colonies was mostly industry and housework for the slaves. For the most part, the slaves that worked in the North were treated decently and slavery did not grow to be as big as it was in the South. Slavery in the Spanish-controlled colonies was also harsh and was mostly plantation work, but the slaves had rights in which they could marry and eventually buy their own freedom. Slavery was a major part of the economy in the North American colonies, it brought Europeans to the Americas to colonize, and populate the area.

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Slaves were imported from Africa and were taken to South America then moved to the Caribbean, and were later brought to the United States. Slaves were used as a free or cheaper labor force to work as housemaids, servants, cotton pickers, planting and harvesting rice, sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee. Slave owners, owned at most 50 slaves. “Historians have estimated that 6 to 7 million black slaves were imported to the New World during the 18th century alone, depriving the African continent of some of its healthiest and ablest men and women” (“Slavery in America”). Slave owners were so content on making their slaves completely dependent on them that there was restrictive codes governed among slaves.

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To start with, slavery was growing at a rapid rate. New laws made it legal for owners to own enslaved people for their entire lives. They had little or no chance for freedom. Slaves were legally considered property, not people. Slaves were also restricted by a set of laws called Slave Codes; these laws were their rights and rules for living.

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Slaves were sold and resold. They were stripped naked at every point of exchange and inspected. Slaves were used to help feed armies and also it was felt that slavery was economically necessary, and it was felt as a method to receive power (Speilberg, n.d.). Atlantic slave trade were advanced in farming techniques with a complex irrigation system. They made cultivation of crops such as tobacco, sugar, and cotton possible.

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World History Throughout the 16th and the 19th centuries, slaves had become a vital part to the world. They were the cause of the world changing into what it is today, and overall resulted in the slave trade being beneficial for Europeans, but catastrophic for Africans and Native Americans. The slave trade began with the use of labor, specifically free labor.

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They were originally used to aid with such luxurious products such as tobacco. Slavery was practiced to as early as the 17th and 18th centuries, African Americans helped build today’s nation and the economy. The production of the cotton gin in 1793 made the demand for slaves grow, by the mid- 1900s the western territory expanded as did the debate over slaves did as well. This great debate would hurt the nation in the bloody Civil War from 1861 -1865. The subject over slavery is important because it teaches America about its past mistakes and how to help make the nation

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Without the Africans we wouldn’t be where we are right now. Their culture has helped us in more than just this part of history,it has helped us in war such as the American revolution. The arrival of slaves has changed the course of history over time. Although they were treated poorly they have caused a big change. These African Americans were treated poorly and turned into slaves.

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The Atlantic slave trade had a great impact on both Africa and the Americas. In Africa, numerous cultures lost their members to European traders and plantation owners. African families were torn apart and many of them were never reunited. The slave trade devastated African societies by introducing guns into the continent. Enslaved Africans made economic, political, cultural, and religious contributions to American societies.

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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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Slavery became the backbone of American History, and to a nation that would not have become a world power without the

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Slavery has played an important role in American history ever since the Indies were discovered. The United States been built on the system of slavery. Once the demand for labor came into play, slaves filled the need for workers. Over time specific events such as the Civil War, the invention of the cotton gin, and agriculture, caused slavery to increase throughout the United States. Some slaves felt trapped by their “job” but feared prosecution if they tried to escape.

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The slave trade led to the disruption of society and family life of enslaved Africans. Millions of African slaves were used for harsh, heavy labor to advance agricultural production and often received cruel treatment. Because many men were taken, it led more African women to take on the typical duties of a male slave. However, their hard work contributed to the development of societies in the Americas and the new world. Their labor consisted of cultivating crops and extracting minerals which led to participation in global trade networks and the emergence of prosperous societies.

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With their master's permission, slaves were free to marry within their class and have children. There were also regulations to safeguard enslaved people from being unjustly killed or

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We now know it is wrong to own people and use them to do your work and work them to death or close to it. Without them going through that, I don’t think that we would be that far in the industrial side of the United States. They created a lot of things while being enslaved such as music and they made everything a little quicker and improved everything that would need fixed. There were more negatives than there were positives though, the African Americans were mistreated when they were forced to move here. They were also being auctioned off like something in a bid, like a coffee table you might buy in a garage sale.

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