Essay on A Noncolor Blind Society

Many would say that America was built on the principle that “all men are created equal” and that U.S. citizens are all given equal treatment, opportunities, and so on. But, is that really the case? Was Thomas Jefferson’s famous words, forever inscribed in the Declaration of Independence, meant for everyone? Taking a look back into America’s short (at least when compared to other countries) history, the phrase “all men are created equal” doesn’t really seem to correlate with the circumstances of that century. Africans were enslaved and forced to do hard, strenuous labor or else be forced to endure a beating by the slave master. But don’t forget, all men are created equal. It says so in the constitution. Fast forward a couple of hundred years where all men still aren’t equal, but are close to it.

From 1641 up until 1865 Africans were captured by slavers and sold into slavery on Southern American plantations. British colonials viewed them as no more than personal property, as the Africans were not under British rule and were not protected under British law (History). Thus, during this time period blacks in slavery did not hold any rights at all (History). Those who were able to buy their freedom were treated as second-class

At first Africans were not slaves but servants. Anthony Johnson is an example of African servant who acquired lands and servants (even white servants) after he managed to become free. Due to development of famers in America tobacco in particular settlers needed more labors, and since lands were limited and most of former indentured servants were not able to receive a land, so they were did not want to go back to work, settlers saw African as a good opportunity for cheap labors. Since Africans were not England citizen, they had no rights to claims, as a result, settlers were able to work them for their whole life. Slavery became profitable especially in Virginia, soon rules were made to make slavery legal, and took away any rights that slaves had. Based on the documentary, for a Virginia plantation it was more profitable to work a slave to death and buy a new slave than let slaves to work in a humane condition. Another reason for development of racial slavery was Englishmen projected slaves as aliens and inferior, as Blight stated “as an outsider”, in different factors such as: color, religion, and

America is a nation “from many, one” as stated in our country’s original motto. We pride ourselves on the granted equal opportunity and freedom afforded to each citizen. But are these premises held true and adequately carried out? My answer is a resounding no! Our country’s intricate history provides us with the foundation that explains why and how discrimination has infiltrated and given the upper hand to the white race that has dominated the American society, while suppressing races of color. Dating back to the discovery of the new world we know as the contemporary United States, the African American race has been segregated and mistreated as exemplified through

Colonists felt they were slaves to the British country being taxed at unreasonable prices and being abided to very restrictive laws. The actual slaves under the colonists were the neglected people. Colonists ironically used the metaphor of slavery to justify their rights as colonists who felt like they were slaves. An example being given by the book is introducing James Otis who wrote The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved. In this selection he tries to compare colonists to black slaves being restricted by chain. This shows on the silences present in the early years of colonization, no one recognized or even acknowledged the idea of actual slavery as a problem, but the metaphor of slavery being imposed on the colonists. The author explains, "It was impossible for the colonists to be the subjects of subjects. That's what slaves were legally: the subjects of subjects. If the white colonists were to be simply governed, or forced to behave, they were being treated like

In America, the land of the free, people believe that it’s the greatest place to be. And America would probably be what everyone believes, but it has a very serious problem that could eventually destroy the country as whole. America is built upon Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but it has a strong equality issue that has to be taken care of. Equality is a social contract in America and unfortunately it is a broken one. A social contract is an agreement amongst the members of a society, but equality is a serious issue. Equality poses the biggest problem to America simply because in any country the people make the country, and if the people can’t get along either internal conflicts occur, or people eventually leave. Throughout America everyone regardless of race, color, or sexual orientation has experienced inequality in some part of America. Words are exchanged, fists are thrown, and in serious cases lives are lost because people are racists to one another. Equality is a broken social contract in America that will eventually be its demise if not attended to.

In 1619, the first enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia. Their sole purpose was to work the fields picking and farming profitable crops such as cotton and tobacco. It is estimated that between 1700 and 1800 six to seven billion enslaved Africans were brought to the American shore (Slavery). Life as an enslaved African was more than tough, it was appalling. Slaves were prohibited from becoming literate, they were restricted in every aspect, whether it was in movement or behavior, and they were punished severely. Slave masters “took sexual liberties” with enslaved women, which was thought to be a tactic to procreate slaves (Slavery). According to that interpretation, slave masters were fueled to

A common biblical reference that they used was The Ten Commandments, which states that one must never covet someone else’s house, manservant, or maidservant. Due to this ancient context that most Americans lived by at the time, it provided sufficient evidence that slavery was rather “human nature”, or a naturally occurring and cyclical practice in society. In addition to religion, pro-slavery activists and followers argued that bringing the Africans to the United States was a “win-win” situation. Bringing the Africans to the United States was actually a benefit for the Africans because they were being brought to a richer, prouder, and more valuable country. In a way, slavery was a way for the slaves to pay their slaveholders back for bringing them to such a “nicer” location.

The issue of slavery has been in infamous part of American history since it first started in the 1600’s in Jamestown, Virginia. During the colonial era, white male landowners needed help on their land taking care of crops, so they would purchase the African slaves after they arrived by boat and have them work the land as well as other tasks that needed to be done such as tending to

In the new world slaves were an extremely cheap form of labor, when a plantation owner had purchased their slaves they owned them for life. Slaves were usually taken off the ship and then auctioned off to potential owners. The owners would then bid on each slave, create and sign a contract and then take their slaves back to their, this was the start of slaves being viewed as objects instead of people. Eventually these contracts were eventually altered to state that any children that a male slave had would also be owned by that male slave’s plantation owner. In 1705, in Virginia, a law was passed stating the rights of a slave, in this law slaves were property, they could be bought and sold, they had no rights, slaves could be punished as a master feels fit.

Abolishment of Slavery Slavery was caused by economic factors of the English settlers in the late 17th century. Colonists continually tried to allure laborers to the colony. The head right system was to give the indentured servant, a method of becoming independent after a number of years of service. Slavery was caused by economic reasons. Colonists chiefly relied on Indentured Servitude, in order to facilitate their need for labor. The decreasing population combined with a need for a labor force, led colonists to believe that African slaves were the most efficient way to acquire a labor force that would satisfy their needs. Slaves were people who were taken from their homeland in Africa and brought to America, to serve as servants on

The seventeenth century Englishmen, in colonial Virginia, developed a legal system to accommodate and perpetuate slavery. However, the colonial, lawmakers had to develop rules to balance the tension between treating Africans as property. Slaves were, considered property, also they were property because they were black. Nevertheless, this was the legal basis for treating people as property.

      America was founded on the belief that "all men are created equal." However, a question must be posed which asks who constitutes "men" and what is "equal"? Where do women fit into the picture? What about minorities? The Declaration of Independence serves as the framework for rules that govern the people who fall beneath it, but who were the architects of the infamous work? They were white, upper class, men. They looked at slavery as a grievous sin, yet they allowed it to occur for decades. Immigrants from all parts of the country came to America to be free from persecution and terror; unfortunately, people were not free in America's

Color blindness is the inability to see certain colors in the usual way; also called a color vision problem. A color vision problem can change your life. It makes it harder to learn and read, and you may not be able to have certain careers. Many young children get teased because of their condition, and few will believe what they are told. But people with color blindness can and have learned to make up for their problems seeing color. Color blindness affects a good amount of people, although exact proportions are different among ethnic groups. For example, in Australia it occurs in about eight percent of males and about point four percent of females. Isolated groups with a little gene pool

In 1619, a Dutch ship docked in Jamestown, Virginia. Twenty African slaves were traded to Jamestown in exchange for food and supplies (Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation). The slaves were given a status similar to the status of indentured servants; they would serve the same terms, and work the same jobs. However, slave conditions began to slowly worsen over time. This event planted the seed for years of debates about the cause and justification of the dehumanization of slaves: if slavery was a utilized for profit, or a result of prejudice. Slavery was not a strategic plan to churn out a profit, but rather, it was a product of a man’s own desire for political and social dominance. Slaves were degraded to something less than human; their race was considered a sin by the church. Africans were also given more severe punishments from the court than their white counterparts for the same crime. Looking into this topic further, it becomes evident that the slavery had stemmed from the racial prejudice driven by the urge for white social and political dominance.