How Did Colonial America Not Free

In 1865, slavery was abolished, by the Thirteenth amendment. This Amendment brought humongous changes and a large number of problems. (Lecture 1) After the destruction of slavery, it left nearly four million African American with no property, little training, and few rights; which made the definition of freedom for African Americans the central question on the nation’s agenda. The big question of the time period was, “what was freedom for African Americans?” (Give me liberty! An American 550)

During the mid-1800s, it was challenging being a slave. Belonging to another human being instead of being free brought numerous hardships African Americans had to endure. It brought about unimaginable pain, frustration, disruption, and stress. In America, slavery was glorified, even though, families were separated and destroyed. Slavery made it tedious to have stability in families because of the effects it had on the African American people. After reading “How Affected African American Families” and “Narrative of Jenny Proctor,” slavery caused African American families to cope with separation, unfair marriage stipulations, horrible living condition, mistreatment and labor, and also the ending of slavery.

This book is helpful interpretively as it helps the reader understand the relatively recent departure from an interpretation that slavery was an unprofitable and necessary evil in which African-Americans were usually treated well and benefited from their relationships with whites. Such traditions and interpretations have educated many visitors.

“She said, “You should say ‘master’. You all are not free…” (“Document C: Henry Adams Statement” 4). Henry Adams was a slave and was freed after the Civil War. However, most white southerners did not acknowledge his freedom. They limited his rights, and tortured him for stating that he was a free citizen. African Americans were not free during Reconstruction because, they were not able to own property and were terrorized by the KKK.

Throughout the colonial period and the time leading up to the American civil war, one of the most important and controversial topics facing Americans was the idea of slavery. The notion of slavery is an odd and incredibly horrifying concept, that one man can own another man, or two men, or an entire family, just because of the color of their skin. No doubt the idea was racist and repulsive, but to many Men and Women in history, across the country and across the world, slavery was just a part of everyday life: they knew no different. So when those people who were being stripped from their homeland and brought over on ships to be sold at auction to the highest white bidder, began to question the sacredness of this terrible

John Wesley Blassingame was an important educator in the study of slavery. Blassingame was a well educated individual receiving his “Bachelor’s Degree from Fort Valley State University (1960); Master’s degree from Howard University (1961); and his Doctorate’s Degree from Yale University (1968 and 1971). At Yale University, Blassingame became a professor of African- American Studies, American Studies, and History.” Taking interest, Blassingame became devoted to African American studies, Blassingame took part in the making of his own books and also helped others with theirs. Blassingame used testimonies and evidence from what he studied about african americans to prove stereotypicals wrong in the issues of slavery being viewed in the standpoint of slave owners.

Slavery was one of the most horrific acts ever instilled on a race of people in world’s history. The history paints a truly horrific picture when blacks were stolen from their homelands, taken away from their families, enslaved and suffered from harsh punishments. The first opposition of practicing slavery in antebellum America takes its origins from the beginning of nineteenth century. The most recognizable abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, George Thompson, David Walker and Frederic Douglass were the first who unfolded the antislavery debates in transnational ways. Their persistent eagerness and appeal to public opinion helped to sow seeds of abolishing slavery in America.

Overall, America was truly not the “land of the free” between the 1600’s and 1865. Life on the plantation for slaves was not easy, for they were treated poorly. Slaves were given nothing else but what they needed to live and work. They lived in log cabins with no floor or waterproof ceilings. They were given winter and spring clothes and only got one pair of each a year.

Since the creation of the United States, the meaning of freedom has changed to meet changing attitudes. Throughout our nation’s history, there have been significant periods of racial, economic and civil rights inequalities. There are different meanings for freedoms that have been established throughout the historical period of the United States. During this modern era, the US had certain periods of time that lived up to the ideals of freedom such as the Gilded Age. In opposition, the US has also had periods of time where our ideals of freedom failed to meet the requirements of our nation, a prime example being the late 1940s when the US entered the Cold War and led to the anti-communism period of McCarthyism which ultimately restricted

Langston Hughes does a great job of explaining this in,” Let America Be America Again”. “Let America Be America Again” is a poem that explains how america is not what it should be. America is supposed to be the land of the free. But it was definitely not the land of the free during slavery. Langston Hughes believes that america is not what it used to be.

Slavery is a stain in the history of the United States that will always be particularly remembered for the cruelty it exhibited. Up until 1865 slaves were imported in shiploads and treated as if they were merely cattle. On the farms slaves were given no mercy and had to work long, arduous days for nothing. Additionally they were often subject to cruel overseers who would beat and whip them on a regular basis. As brutal and destructive as the institution of slavery was, slaves were not defenseless victims. Through their families, and religion, as well as more direct forms of resistance, Africans-Americans resisted the debilitating effects of slavery and created a vital culture supportive of human dignity.

The contradictions between slavery and freedom are very apparent throughout history. America started out with the intentions of becoming separate

The controversies surrounding slavery have been established in many societies worldwide for centuries. In past generations, although slavery did exists and was tolerated, it was certainly very questionable,” ethically“. Today, the morality of such an act would not only be unimaginable, but would also be morally wrong. As things change over the course of history we seek to not only explain why things happen, but as well to understand why they do. For this reason, we will look further into how slavery has evolved throughout History in American society, as well as the impacts that it has had.

During the time that our nation was developing, slavery was still considerably around. Unfortunately, the views of our nation did not recognize the rights of African Americans or even valued them. So, I am sure that the slaves and even freed slaves during this time period didn’t view America the same way that a lot of people do today. To them, America was not a free nation. They were treated

When people think or hear of the word “slavery,” they only remember how poorly the slaves were mistreated and how unfair it was to them to endure this. The modern society only sees slavery as thing of forced labor, prostitution, or theatrical sex-play . Any person, young or old, that is forced into work, owned or controlled by an ‘employer,’ bought or sold as property, or confined from any movement is considered to be in slavery . But back in the 1600s, our thoughts or interpretations didn’t matter. The thoughts of the leaders of America were what truly mattered as well as slaves that escaped and survived to tell their story. So why don’t we go into the mind of those who were directly involved in this epidemic called slavery? Let me