Slavery and Racism, the Chicken Before the Egg
Prejudice Vs. Slavery, The Egg Before the ChickenA chicken's egg is round, soft, white, and extremely delicate. The egg holds within it the power and necessary components to manifest a healthy, able-bodied creature. The egg might be weak in the sense that its structure is fragile, however, the strength of the life inside is overwhelming. Prejudice holds with it an omnipotent strength as it is hatched in the privacy of the weak minded. The power of prejudice is quite strong in comparison to the force of slavery. In order for slavery to prevail as an institution, physical force is necessary, whereas no such force is needed to sustain ideas of prejudice. Since the mind is stronger than might, prejudice has had a longer lasting affect on American life, whereas slavery has drawn to a close with the legislation of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution under the United States central government. When a physical catalyst is added then to the power of racial prejudice, such epochs as slavery result. Carl Degler presents such! a theory in his article, "Slavery and Race Prejudice," which provides a critique of Mary and Oscar Handlins', "Origins of the Southern Labor System." A close examination of Degler's critique clarifies th
10Carl Degler, "Slavery and Race Prejudice", 66 ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**attached in chicago format. Servitude was the economic institution that instilled the first ideas of slavery in the colonies and this derived from Europe. It emerged rather from the adjustment to American conditions of traditional European institutions"1. "Moreover servitude as an estate was not confined to those who fell into it against their wills. They were sold away and worked for the rest of their lives due to underlying prejudice. In the eyes of Degler, the start of slavery in the seventeenth century, derived from prejudice. "3 Thus, the Handlins' also realize how slaves were being bought and sold, and that Africans had very little freedom. the status to which the (African American) acquired here cannot be explained by reference to that economic motive"9. The Handlins' argument discusses in detail the economic gains of slavery, and how slave trade and labor are means for success in the new world. The Handlins' argument proves the fact that, yes, slavery had many economic ad!vantages, but money was not the sole root to slavery. The thesis of the Handlins' argument states, "[slavery] was not a response to any unique qualities in the Negro himself. " Comparative Studies in Society and History, II (1959): 525Oscar and Mary Handlin, "Origins", 2056Carl Degler, "Slavery and Race Prejudice", 53. Richard Ligon, a citizen of Barbados during the time of slavery wrote, "[it] is divided into three sorts of men, viz: Masters, servants, and slaves. The same institutions however, were not possible to replicate in the new world.
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Acceptance Essays
