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Slave Resistance

Decent Essays

Slaves were not respected, nor considered citizens; therefore, absolute rights, i.e. the guarantee of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were denied to them (Holt & Brown, 2000). African Americans were deemed inferior. Laws were enacted to restrict their behaviors, control, and demean them, simply because of the color of their skin (PBS, n.d.). Slave codes were different for each colony, but all restricted slaves as property and of the black race (Olson-Raymer, 2014).
Some of the legal challenges presented by treating human beings were trying to find the balance between slavery and the law (Finkelman, 2012). There was confusion and a gradual development to the laws. One of the challenges was punishment for flight offenses, which occurred often. The verbiage was unclear as to law because punishment for running away was whippings and added time of service, but slaves had lifelong service, so no time could be added. Similarly, law stated the slave …show more content…

No one inherently desires to give up their freedom; as a result, resistance, revolts, and rebellions arise. One common method of resistance that made life difficult was to decrease production by any means as a form of negotiation. Slave owners could and did punish those that resisted; however, the risk of others following suit was great. In this regard, slave owners were forced to somewhat settle. Ironically, the laws that governed slaves as property, rather than people, were used against them. For example, stealing was another form of resistance, but how could slave owners charge property with theft of property? In the eyes of slave owners, anything slaves did that was not controlled by their master was deemed wrong. The strength of African Americans and their will to fight, presented problems as well because they would fight, rebel, and revolt against the slave

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