Slavery and Freedom: the Contradiction of the Formation of the Constitution Essay Example
Slavery and Freedom: the Contradiction of the Formation of the Constitution and the Foundation of America.
America is seen as the formation of freedom and the foundation of a world filled with opportunities was formed from slavery. The dehumanization of Africans began with the institution of slavery which began with the formation of the United States. With the introduction of plantations, slavery became popular during the 16th and 17th centuries on Brazilian and Caribbean sugar plantations. European colonists used slaves to work unbearable hours on the plantations. One of the first accounts of slavery occurred when a Dutch slave trader exchanged his slaves for food in the year 1619. Racial based slavery was not established until 1680. Indentured servants refused to work under the grueling conditions and the long hours, and this lead to the accepted notion of slavery. Slavery was seen as a social status, colonies of high social status had slaves. Colonists who had become dependent on African Americans for their labor feared what life would be like without slaves and they also feared social upheaval from below. The numbers of slaves outnumbered the colonists and the fear that these Africans with their “brute” strength might overrun them. During the 1600’s slaves were worth as much as $27 and for the amount of work they did they were worth much more than this. According to the census of 1860 it showed that there were 4 million slaves out of 12.3 million in the fifteen slave states. This proportion of slave to white slave owner population varied depending on the area, but the largest concentration of slaves were in the Deep South. In South
Carolina and Mississippi more than half the population was slaves, and in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia the slave population was more than two-fifths. There were about 400,000 slave owners out of 1.5 million white families (Parish 26). Slavery did not become based on race until some events such as Bacon’s Rebellion
America is seen as the formation of freedom and the foundation of a world filled with opportunities was formed from slavery. The dehumanization of Africans began with the institution of slavery which began with the formation of the United States. With the introduction of plantations, slavery became popular during the 16th and 17th centuries on Brazilian and Caribbean sugar plantations. European colonists used slaves to work unbearable hours on the plantations. One of the first accounts of slavery occurred when a Dutch slave trader exchanged his slaves for food in the year 1619. Racial based slavery was not established until 1680. Indentured servants refused to work under the grueling conditions and the long hours, and this lead to the accepted notion of slavery. Slavery was seen as a social status, colonies of high social status had slaves. Colonists who had become dependent on African Americans for their labor feared what life would be like without slaves and they also feared social upheaval from below. The numbers of slaves outnumbered the colonists and the fear that these Africans with their “brute” strength might overrun them. During the 1600’s slaves were worth as much as $27 and for the amount of work they did they were worth much more than this. According to the census of 1860 it showed that there were 4 million slaves out of 12.3 million in the fifteen slave states. This proportion of slave to white slave owner population varied depending on the area, but the largest concentration of slaves were in the Deep South. In South
Carolina and Mississippi more than half the population was slaves, and in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia the slave population was more than two-fifths. There were about 400,000 slave owners out of 1.5 million white families (Parish 26). Slavery did not become based on race until some events such as Bacon’s Rebellion