Slavery, A Building Block in the Foundation of America's History

1396 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cause and effects of american slave culture

Slavery was present preceding the European discovery of the Americas. It was limited to the conquered people of the indigenous nations and it was not widespread. This situation changed with the arrival of Europeans, as they possessed modern weapons with which they were able to overtake the most formidable segments of native tribes. Sickness introduced to the indigenous tribes by the Europeans reduced the enslaved population to the point that new workers were needed. A slave trade was brought into existence by this need. Slaves were still gathered from indigenous tribes, but they were supplemented with African slaves brought by ship. These events helped to forge the Americas into the prosperous cultures they eventually became. Slavery influenced culture during the revolutionary period with the beginnings of racism, this culture change initiated lawmaking concerning race, which started with the first emancipation around 1780. How these two topics were molded until the 1850's, and have remained present in the modern era of our lives will be proven in the following essay. The word racism is a term used to describe the believed differences between people of different colors, because of traits, morals, or intellectual prowess. These perceived differences cause a racist person to treat a person of color in ways that would be unaccepted by most people in their own race. [1] This practice, racism, was initiated in the 17th century to promote or justify the use of slaves in what was to become the United States. Racism is justified by many means including the bible, science, and hypothetical theories. A widespread religious following in the Americas became the basis for acceptance of racism using the bible for justification. It ran into c... ... middle of paper ... ...hudacoff, Fredrik Logevall, Beth Bailey, and Debra Michals. A People & A Nation: A history of The United States and A More Perfect Union. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2010. [3]. Goldenberg, Amy Production Editor. RACE Are We So Different?. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association , 2010. http://www.understandingrace.org/history/gov/expan_slavery.html. (accessed March 20, 2012). [4]. Valbrun, Marjorie. "Rewriting the Script Won’t Change the Facts in the Trayvon Martin Case." Slate.com. April 2, 2012. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/04/02/trayvon_martin_zimmerman_s_black_friend_and_hispanic_defenses_won_t_work_.html. [5]. Olafson, Steve. "Tulsa Shootings Evoke City's past Racial Violence." Reuters News Service. Accessed April 10, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-usa-crime-tulsa-idUSBRE83A02J20120411.

Show More
Related

  • Kat Von D, Racism And In-N-Out To Tattoo

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is racism? Racism is the believe that one race is superior than another. When using racism one may use a person’s skin color, language, customs or place of birth the judge them quickly in a negative way.This causes many things to happen such as war, slavery, formation of nations, and legal codes. It has been in human history for a really long time(Racism). Although it was there it wasn't always automatic, but it did end happening at some point or another. When people feel this way about other races they may think of them a subhuman of savages and may want segretain between themselves and the others(Racism). Though some think that race is a good way to classify people scientist say other ways:”There are few genetic characteristics to be found in England that are not found in Zaire or China…the differences that most deeply affect us in our dealings with each other ar not to any significant degree biologically determined”(Racism). So it is scientifically proven that using race to judge someone isn't really fair because they could be more genetically connected to you that you

    Read More

  • The History of Slavery in the United States

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Following the success of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas in the early16th century, the Spaniards, French and Europeans alike made it their number one priority to sail the open seas of the Atlantic with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new territory. Once there, they immediately fell in love the land, the Americas would be the one place in the world where a poor man would be able to come and create a wealthy living for himself despite his upbringing. Its rich grounds were perfect for farming popular crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. However, there was only one problem; it would require an abundant amount of manpower to work these vast lands but the funding for these farming projects was very scarce in fact it was just about nonexistent. In order to combat this issue commoners back in Europe developed a system of trade, the Triangle Trade, a trade route that began in Europe and ended in the Americas. Ships leaving Europe first stopped in West Africa where they traded weapons, metal, liquor, and cloth in exchange for captives that were imprisoned as a result of war. The ships then traveled to America, where the slaves themselves were exchanged for goods such as, sugar, rum and salt. The ships returned home loaded with products popular with the European people, and ready to begin their journey again.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Rodney King Trial And The Play Twelve Angry Men

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was April 29th, 1992, and “Dawn was just filtering over Los Angeles and Courtroom 890 was silent as a tomb”(Mathews 1). The Rodney King trial had taken a little over two months and the verdict had the potential to change the history of the United States indefinitely. In both the Rodney King Beating Trial and the play Twelve Angry Men, racism played a major part in the original verdict. Rodney King was definitely in the wrong on the night of the beating, but the beating he got was not necessary. The trial was moved to a community with little diversity, therefore, the police officers were acquitted. The outcome of this trial would have turned out differently if the jury had been more diverse

    Read More

  • Henrietta Lacks Racism

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racism is defined as the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others. Why feel superior if God created everyone equal and there is not one inferior. Over the history there has been many cases of racism. An example in history is Henrietta Lacks, her eyes still young and playful not knowing she had a cancerous tumor with a multimillion- dollar of immortal cells inside of her. She was one of many persons who experienced racism. The novel of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot addresses her life has an African American. The racism theme is prevalent in the novel and it shows the fact how African Americas were treated by white people.

    Read More

  • Brent Staples' Describes Discrimination of Black Men Through his Writing

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    The way Staples structures this essay emphasizes his awareness of the problem he faces. The essay’s framework consists mostly of Staples informing the reader of a scenario in which he was discriminated against and then following it with a discussion or elaboration on the situation. This follow-up information is often an expression stating comprehension of his problem and than subtitle, logical criticisms toward it. For example, Staples describes women “fearing the worst of him” on the streets of Brooklyn. He then proceeds to declare that he understands that “women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence.” Staples supports this statement with information about how he had witnessed gang violence in Chester, Pennsylvania and saw countless black youths locked away, however, Staples pronounces that this is no excuse for holding every young black man accountable, because he was an example of a black man who “grew up one of the good boys” coming “to doubt the virtues of intimidation early on.” This narrative structure highlights that Staples is not a hypocrite because he is not show ignorance toward the problem he is addressing unlik...

    Read More

  • Slavery in American Society: Impact and Evolution

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    Norton, Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. 8th. 1. Mason, OH: 2009. 41-42, 65-67,161,173.

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Beth Norton, David M. Katzman, David W. Blight, Howard Chudacoff, Fredrik Logevall. “A People and A Nation: A History of the United States.” Boston: Cenage Learning. 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • How Slavery Affected Colonial America

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Racism and the American Dream From 1492 and 1877

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let’s begin with racism, which dates back to as far as humans can remember. “It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” One of the most known acts of racism was the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This racism was a result of the racist belief that black Africans were less human than white Europeans.

    Read More

  • Slavery In The United States

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout this course we learned about slavery and it's effects on our country and on African Americans. Slavery and racism is prevalent throughout the Americas before during and after Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Some people say that Jefferson did not really help stop any of the slavery in the United States. I feel very differently and I will explain why throughout this essay. Throughout this essay I will be explaining how views of race were changed in the United States after the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, and how the events of the Jeffersonian Era set the stage for race relations for the nineteenth century.

    Read More

  • Slavery as the Cause of the American Civil War

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict. Slavery has existed in the New World since the seventeenth century prior to it being exclusive to race. During those times there were few social and political concerns about slavery. Initially, slaves were considered indentured servants who will eventually be set free after paying their debt(s) to the owner. In some cases, the owners were African with white servants. However, over time the slavery became exclusive to Africans and was no limited to a specific timeframe, but life. In addition, the treatment of slaves worsens from the Atlantic Slave trade to th...

    Read More

  • the development of slavery in America

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery was the main resource used in the Chesapeake tobacco plantations. The conditions in the Chesapeake region were difficult, which lead to malnutrition, disease, and even death. Slaves were a cheap and an abundant resource, which could be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake region’s tobacco industries grew and flourished on the intolerable and inhumane acts of slavery.

    Read More

  • Racism in The Color of Fear

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let’s start with the definition of racism. Racism refers to the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently based on their ascribed race.

    Read More

  • Racism In The Media Essay

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racism comes in many forms ad can be expressed in many different societies in various ways. 1 The dictionary defines racism as the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. This definition of racism makes it clear that it is a perceived point of view that implies prejudice towards people or a person based solely on their race. Racism has been an issue in many societies for many years and still is an issue in modern society. 2 Recently in the U.S. many cases of racism towards African Americans have been shown in the media. However racism is not just a U.S. culture based issue but also a cross-cultural issue

    Read More

  • Racism in America - Past and Present

    2883 Words  | 6 Pages

    Racism is the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, place of origin, or ancestry. The term racism may also denote a blind and unreasoning hatred, envy, or prejudice (Dimensions of Racism). Racism has had a strong effect on society. Despite the many efforts made to alleviate racism, what is the future of African Americans' Racism's long history, important leaders, current status, and future outlook will be the main factors in determining how to combat racism. Racism is still present in many societies, although many people are doing their best to put an end to racism and its somewhat tragic ordeals.

    Read More

More about Slavery, A Building Block in the Foundation of America's History

Open Document