Slavery in Colonial America
Slavery played an important role in the economic growth of a young America. "It grew like a cancer, at first slowly, almost imperceptibly, then inexorably, as colonists eager for material gain imported hundreds of thousands of Africans to toil in their fields (Kolchin, 4)." Although economically motivated, racism soon began to play a role in the colonies in their attempt to acquire a labor force. "Racial distinction, in short, facilitated enslavement (Kolchin, 13)." Rather than forego the economic benefits of slavery, American slaveholders resolved the dilemma by defining blacks not as fellow human beings but more like beasts of burden.The colonists came from a culture in which "the rich and powerful exploited the poor and powerless (Kolchin, 7)." It was this attitude in the beginning that the demand for labor was for the most part color-blind. Throughout the seventeenth century the bulk of the labor force in the colonies was that of indentured servants. They sold themselves for the cost of passage to the colonies in hope for a better life. As long as there was this continuous influx of indentured labor there was no need to go to the expense of paying for the import of Africans. With economic recovery and political stab
The transition from indentured servants to that of slave labor was not difficult because the English already had preconceived stereotypes about Africans. The English saw the Africans as "black" which was a term that meant anything from dirty to immoral. " Americans began to believe that slavery was a natural state for Africans because they were so different from whites. In the Caribbean, slaves had to be continuously imported due to the high mortality rate. " Unlike the other parts of the New World the slave population in the colonies saw significant growth. Once the African slaves transitioned to African-Americans and began to create a culture that took on more of an American flavor it became harder for the colonists to look upon them as "pagans". It was this division that eventually drew the line between the slave South and the free North. The use of slavery was much smaller in the North than in the South. Landowners began to prefer slaves to servants because slaves were permanent and "female slave passed their status on to their children (Kolchin, 13). Not only were they seen as savages and uncivilized but they were also considered heathens. These "negative stereotypes of Africans helped shape race relations in America during the early years of slavery (Kolchin, 15). There was a rise in legislation regulating the conditions of blacks setting them apart from the white settlers. They posed less of a flight risk because they were unfamiliar with their surroundings. Slavery did not serve as the basis for the economy in the North.
Common topics in this essay:
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African African-American,
English Africans,
Africans Landowners,
North South,
Africans Africans,
North Caribbean,
Native Americans,
Slavery South,
South Kolchin,
indentured servants,
indentured servitude,
labor force,
african-american culture,
stereotypes africans,
slave labor,
demand labor,
commercial agriculture,
kolchin 13,
sold themselves,
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Acceptance Essays
