Slave systems have been traced back for thousands of years in world history, and the practice eventually became adopted in the New World in the 17th century. Though the adoption of the slave system did not directly relate to race or racism, it set precedence for America’s growth and economic systems. From the years 1788 to 1864, the United States underwent a series of debates regarding many issues, specifically slavery, that reflected the ratification of the United States Constitution (1788) and the Nevada Constitution (1864). Slavery was a fundamental issue that framed the creation of the Union. It continued to be a core issue for the Union and for many states, such as Nevada, that attempted to join the Union. Changes in legislation, leadership …show more content…
To begin, the first colonies used indentured servitude to ensure steady economic growth with tobacco in the New World. Indentured servitude were a less effective method for labor in the colonies because servants would have usually come to the New World, served their contracts, and then released after a short time. Slave systems became an alluring solution for the colonies as indentured servitude declined. The need for the slave system became apparent and a necessity for the colonies’ growth. Slave owners, who were thriving financially from their farms and businesses, began to justify the use of the slave systems through the consolidation of race and racism. Slave owners argued that slaves were intellectually and biologically inferior because of the color of their skin. Of the many examples that allowed slavery to foster in colonial America, one example would be the “Acts Defining Slavery” by the Virginia General Assembly. These acts were laws that set precedence and authorized the legality of slavery in the colony, which were reprehensible. For example, “all children borne, shall be held bond or free according to the condition of the mother”, which was Act XII (1662) that condemned any child that was born by an African mother to be enslaved (105). The change in thinking that was reflected in this time period demonstrated a shift of labor force and formalizing race and racism. As the colonies’ prosperity blossomed economically from slavery, it moved towards the notion for freedom and independence from Britain through political and revolutionary
As the Reconstruction Era ended, the United States became the up and coming world power. The Spanish-American war was in full swing, and the First World War was well on its way. As a result of the open-door policy, England, Germany, France, Russia, and eventually Japan experienced rapid industrial growth; the United States decided to pursue a foreign policy because of both self- interest and idealism. According to the documents, Economic self- interest, rather than idealism was more significant in driving American foreign policy from 1895 to 1920 because the United States wanted to protect their foreign trade, property and their access to recourses. While the documents also show that Nationalistic thought (idealism) was also crucial in driving American foreign policy, economic Self- interest prevailed.
In the colonization period, the urge to conquer foreign territories was strong, and many lands in the Western Hemisphere were conquered. With the colonization of these areas, a mercantilist relationship was formed between the conquered civilization and the maternal country. A major part of this was the restriction of exportation of native resources only to the mother country as well as the banning of trading with colonies of other countries. In turn, there was an increasing in the number of smuggling activities during the time. According to a British sailor named William Taggart in 1760, the illegal smuggling of goods into these areas had a positive impact because it brought prosperity to the people in Monte Christi, as there were only one hundred poor families. Likewise, Dominica governor John Orde praised the trading because it created prices much lower than with its maternal country. However, British admiral David Tyrell, Roger Elletson, Dominica governor John Orde, and a 1790 Bahaman newspaper report all had similar views on the harmful effects and corruptness present in smuggling. Despite this, physician George Lipscomb and British Lieutenant Governor Thomas Bruce had neutral opinions on the matter, and only stated what they witnessed in the process.
The use of labor came in two forms; indenture servitude and Slavery used on plantations in the south particularly in Virginia. The southern colonies such as Virginia were based on a plantation economy due to factors such as fertile soil and arable land that can be used to grow important crops, the plantations in the south demanded rigorous amounts of labor and required large amounts of time, the plantation owners had to employ laborers in order to grow crops and sell them to make a profit. Labor had become needed on the plantation system and in order to extract cheap labor slaves were brought to the south in order to work on the plantations. The shift from indentured servitude to slavery was an important time as well as the factors that contributed to that shift, this shift affected the future generations of African American descent. The history of colonial settlements involved altercations and many compromises, such as Bacons Rebellion, and slavery one of the most debated topics in the history of the United States of America. The different problems that occurred in the past has molded into what is the United States of America, the reflection in the past provides the vast amount of effort made by the settlers to make a place that was worth living on and worth exploring.
The institution of slavery, from the year 1830 to 1860, created a divide between the northern and southern regions of the United States. Southerners, who relied on slaves to maintain their plantations, supported the institution, as it was a major part of their economy. Meanwhile, northerners, many of whom depended on slave produced cotton for textile mills and goods for the shipping industry, were divided on the slave issue, as some saw it as a blessing while the abolitionists saw it as a horrific institution. Overall, attitudes toward the institution of slavery, due to a variety of causes, differed in the varying regions in the United States from 1830 to 1860.
Throughout Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, nations were filled with poor and less fortunate individuals. While the nobles of countries such as France and England ruled their lands, many forgot about the underprivileged that roamed the city streets begging for alms. As a result, the opinions towards these lower class people were very differentiated. However, three main opinions stood out. All in all, the views of the poor in fifteenth – eighteenth century Europe included those who believed individuals should help the poor because it is the right thing to do, those who believed individuals should help the poor for God, and those who believed the poor were just idlers
"The American constitution recognized slavery as a local constitution within the legal rights of the individual states. But in the North slavery was not adaptable to the local economy, and to many, it contradicted the vision of the founding fathers for a nation in which all men are to be free. The South considered slavery as a necessary institution for the plantation economy. It was linked to the local culture and society. As the United states expanded, the North worried that the South would introduce slavery into the new territories. Slavery had become both a moral issue and a question of political power." (Kral p61)
The Growing Opposition to Slavery 1776-1852 Many Americans’ eyes were opened in 1776, when members of the Continental Congress drafted, signed, and published the famous document “The Declaration of Independence” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By declaring their independence, many of the colonists believed that slaves should have the same rights as the whites had. Abolition groups were formed, and the fight to end slavery began. In 1776, Delaware became the first state to prohibit the importation of African slaves. One year later, in 1777, Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery (within Vermont’s boundaries) by state constitution.
Thomas Bender reminds us in his book A Nation Among Nations, to search for all of the information before we make a decision on the history we have written. American or U.S. history cannot be understood completely without putting it into a global context first. Two documents we can draw information from that would support Bender’s thesis are the Virginia Slave Codes enacted in 1705 and The Barbados Slave Code written in 1688. These two documents bring perspective to the strides that were made toward slavery and how they affected America. The slavery that ran throughout the world began as common practice then was later made law.
Slavery was a practice in many countries in the 17th and 18th centuries, but its effects in human history was unique to the United States. Many factors played a part in the existence of slavery in colonial America; the most noticeable was the effect that it had on the personal and financial growth of the people and the nation. Capitalism, individualism and racism were the utmost noticeable factors during this most controversial period in American history. Other factors, although less discussed throughout history, also contributed to the economic rise of early American economy, such as, plantationism and urbanization. Individually, these factors led to an enormous economic growth for the early American colonies, but collectively, it left a social gap that we are still trying to bridge today.
There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited rights, and were allowed to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slave kids that were born while they were enslaved were not considered to be slaves, but to be free under the law. Indentured Servants helped the colonies increase their population.
Indentured service were “men and women who signed a contract by which they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to Virginia” (Encyclopedia Virginia). If the men and women served their contact fully, they would receive land themselves. There were blacks and whites in the same social class, and working the same job. During the Bacon’s Rebellion, blacks and whites worked together to rebell against Berkeley. When the rebels were finally defeated, it ended indentured servitude. Due to “the ruling class in Virginia to be terrified of white and black servants uniting and changed the hardened the slave policy along racial lines. No more would white and black people serve together on the lowest rung” (History Revived). Demand for tobacco, rice, and indigo required tremendous need for labor and “post-Bacon's Rebellion world where slavery and the plantation economy are in place, where black people are arriving in large numbers from Africa, the view of black people changes very rapidly” (PBS). Black slaves were now viewed as property that produced labor at a cheap expensed. In conclusion, the ending of the indentured service spark the demand for black slaves for
After the American Revolution, slavery began to decrease in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the turn of the century, seven of the most Northern states had abolished slavery. During this time, a surge of democratic reform swept the North to the West, and there were demands for political equality, economic and social advances for all Americans. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person and when new territories became available i...
Some historians think those first blacks in Virginia were considered as servants, like the white indentured servants brought from Europe. But the strong probability is that, even if they were listed as "servants" (a more familiar category to the English), they were viewed as being different from white servants, were treated differently, and in fact were slaves. In any case, slavery developed quickly into a regular institution, into th...
During class, it was made known that racial slavery was a social or chattel construct. This meant that an enslaved person was seen as property. Indentured servants were those who bonded themselves to another person for a period of four to seven years in order to gain passage to the new world (C.D. 09-09-16). Indentured servitude did not focus on any type of race while racial slavery did, specifically blacks. In the seventeenth-century, black and white indentured servants had much in common and would often ally themselves together to escape bondage. But during the transition from indentured servitude to racial slavery, distinguishing factors were created between whites and blacks by the authorities of that time. These supposed “differences” made life harder for blacks and gave whites a sense of superiority over those who were
Knowles, H. J. (2007). The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship. Slavery & Abolition, 28(3), 309-328. doi:10.1080/01440390701685514