Callum Rock Hist 1301 1PM Zachary Montz 9/29/2017 Mid term paper In the beginnings of the New England and Chesapeake colonies, both societies needed to establish systems of law and social control. There were laws set pertaining to both freemen, and slaves in the south. These were intended to keep the interests of the british settlements as a whole, in mind. In the southern colonies, The Virginia Statutes establish laws pertaining to slaveholders control over their slaves or servants. One of the first instances of this is in Act XXII of 1660. This act was establishing the punishment for english servants running away with negroes. It stated “Bee it enacted that the English so running away in company with them shall serve for the time of the …show more content…
Aspects of the law were applying to slaves, those who owned slaves, all white people who either do or do not own slaves, and servants. It shows how all different groups of people in the society have to do their part in order to maintain the economic system. In the Slave Code of South Carolina, it begins stating rules of slaves paying off debts to their owners by saving and paying off with money or goods, or being sold and their profit being given to the original owner. It continues to talk about runaway slaves and the process in which someone must go through if they find one. The document states “ no person whatsoever, except the sheriff or gaoler, shall keep any runaway slave or slaves above four days… employ any of them, or suffer him, or her in custody”, this shows the idea of ownership of slaves in the fact that they must be returned quickly, having done no work for the capturer, and there is a small reward upon return. All of these laws are established to help maintain the social and economic society that is centered around slavery in the southern …show more content…
He is stating that if everyone serves god in the way that they are intended to, then we shall be rewarded. Those who work for god and become the chosen ones who serve him more directly, will then help others and so on, which is god helping his people
There are many other familiar laws addressing slaves makes me believe slaves were property and it is looked as thievery. An example of this is the fifteenth law, “if a man should enable a palace slave, a palace slave woman, a commoner’s slave, or a comer’s slave woman to through the main city-gate, he shall be killed”
Wendy Warren, a historian who focuses on Colonial time, goes into depth about how the slave trade erupted in New England in her book New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America. She explains how African Americans were brought to America and how they were treated once they arrived. One recurring theme that circled around the Africans was economics. The slave trade market took off when companies wanted to invest in the Africans and the New World. Stock companies would be competitive towards who had the rights to certain slave groups as if it was a gigantic game of Monopoly.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an Act of the United States Congress to give result to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In this acts, south purposed to assist the recapture and extradition of runaway slaves. In addition, they intended to make federal government giving a pledge to let holding property in slaves be legal. The international slave-trade clause restricted slavery after 20 years. As Waldstreicher illuminated that this clause gave slavery 20 years for wanton trade (2015).
Not all slave owners treated the workers harshly, however the Stono Rebellion raised a difference in opinion between both parties. The white men now feared the slaves and their capabilities if given the chance to revolt again. Out of fear, the government established a guideline of rules for the slave population, outlined in a document known as The Negro Act of 1740. The Negro Act encouraged harsher control and prohibited any more transportation of slaves directly from Africa. South Carolina now had more blacks than whites due to the immigration as well as natural increases.
The Virginia General Assembly debated the future of slavery in the state, which also involves cultural impact. They passed legislation making a law for reading and writing illegal to slaves, free black men, and mulattoes. North Carolina restricted all blacks from holding religious meetings without the presence of a licensed white minister. The Alabama Slave Code of 1833 banned slaves from leaving their master without written permission. Slaves were also not permitted to have any types of weapons, unless they were carrying it for their masters and slave owners could not have any slaves who did not belong to them on their property for more than four hours.
In the eyes of the law, slaves were considered property, rather than a person. The 3/5ths compromise of 1787 made this evident when Congress announced that slaves would only count as 3/5ths of a person. As slaves were property, they couldn’t earn their own living, vote, or go wherever they wanted. A few slaves tried to escape their bondage and run away. There were a few unsuccessful revolts, which usually was punishable by torture or death.
that Negroes . . . could be disciplined, even punished, [without regrets] since they were not Christians; and that the supply [seemed to be without end]. Black labor was precisely what Virginia needed in order to speed up the clearing of the forests and the [growing] of larger and better tobacco crops.” Slavery was extremely inhumane and cruel. Slave codes denied slaves basic human rights and treated them as property.
In 1619, the first twenty African slaves arrived at Point Comfort, located in Hampton, Virginia (Unit 3 African American Slavery). They arrived on a Dutch ship and were the first Africans to involuntarily be used for labor in the British colonies (African Slaves Arrive at Point Comfort (Hampton), VA.). Georgia was the first state to legalize slavery and Maryland was the first to industrialize it in 1640 (A slave auction in south Carolina). In 1661, Virginia became the first British colony to establish slavery (The Growth of
“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Slavery is taking the individuals freedom, control over their lives and coercing them to obey rules against their will and depriving them from their rights and freedom. There are two types of freedom, Sovereign freedom and Civic freedom. Sovereign freedom is exercising power over us and others and Civic freedom is the freedom of sharing the power of the state that is governing us. A historian called Orlando Patterson suggested that there are only three universal elements applied to the slavery systems.
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.
Through the years of 1750 to 1901, the journey of thousands of humans sailed out overseas. With many decisions, they all experienced something different, from those who were forced to leave, had to leave or chose to leave. The voyage of slaves, convicts and free settlers differed immensely, yet, they still had slight similarities. Kidnapped and forced into slavery, that was the early stages of becoming a slave. They were forced on to the ships then chained and bounded to each other as they sat, tightly packed inside and buckets used as toilets were shared among the slaves.
The Chesapeake colonies were part of the Anglican church, who had to take oaths of allegiance before they could leave for the New World (Doc. C). The Chesapeake colonies were located in an environment that was perfect for crops such as tobacco and rice, which lead to a strong economy. The New England colonies had a much harsher climate, which didn’t allow for as much farming. New England was still able to maintain a robust economy through lumber and fishing. Because of the large amount of crops that needed cultivating, there was a large enslaved population in the
Peter Wood stated this impairment of regulation “did more than any single piece of legislation…to curtail de facto personal liberties, which slaves had been able to cling to” (Smith, 68). The decrease in freedoms enacted by South Carolina would extend to other colonies as well further defining the practice and
The public who wanted the slaves would observe the Africans days before auction, they would measure and assess them of their physicality. In the plantation fields the slaves would work all day, weekdays and Saturday with 15 minuets breaks. Some Africans would damage the machinery so that they wouldn’t have to do the work or some would pretend to be sick. Although, these actions were threatened with penalties if the owners caught them. Other common punishments were beating or whips, or if a slave would try to escape they would be placed in neck collars or leg irons.
Methods of Enslavement during the Colonial Periods Of the many ways that were used by colonialist to make others slaves, creating wars between conflicting tribes was one of the methods. Colonialism spread across Africa, America, Caribbean regions, Middle East, and Asia. In addition, colonialists introduced various mechanisms that devoured rights of slaves and expanded the power of the then ruling classes. For instance, there are laws that denied slaves to own property, but on the other hand, allowed colonialists to possess mass lands and buy slaves to work on these farms [William Few, Slavery in the Early Republic, paragraph 4]. However, despite the success by colonialists to enslave native tribes, a wave of resistance from slaves spread in