The Impact Of Slavery On The African-American Community

In 1700’s and early 1800’s slavery was a common and widely used practice as a source of labor in the United States. However, during the Second Great Awakening a massive reform ran rampant throughout the nation with the goal to abolish slavery in its entirety. Unfortunately, this reform was met with an opposing side who viewed slavery as a justifiable act. The men and women who declared themselves to be proslavery viewed African Americans as an inferior race. The ignorance within these men and women caused them to rejoice and find comfort in owning slaves.

In the 1700 Africans made up most of South Carolina population. The African gave labor on sugar and rice plantation. This is important because it proved that the locked up Africans was a more tightly controlled labor force than the white written contracted servants whom they slowly replaced. In 1739 a slave known as the Stono Rebellion happened in a low county of South Carolina. Many blacks along the Stono River tried to march to Spanish Florida. The group of armed people militia was called in to put down the

Slavery had an immense impact on African American families, as the familial dynamic of the African American family was in many ways responsible for the stereotypes surrounding black families in the present moment. Not only were families the sole property of their slave owner, but there were laws restricting their rights and privileges. However, despite the fact that the African American slave family existed in a perpetually tumultuous state, there were cohesive slave families, but they faced many struggles and challenges. In particular, black women were faced with incredible hardships with regard to sustaining the familial structure. This paper explores aspects of the African American family structure during slavery, considering the effect that slavery had on black women. The legacy of slavery in the present moment is also considered, in addition to whether slavery continues to exist.

During the war, some slave owners ran businesses as well as owning plantations. In addition, African-Americans mostly worked in the fields plowing, weeding, planting, taking care of the tobacco, corn, cotton, sugar cane, tomatoes, and other vegetables. (Appendix 13). The slaves did the majority of work in the households they were assigned. When the slaves were assigned to a home that had less than five people, they were treated like family. When they were placed in a household with hundreds of slaves, they were treated more strictly with a great deal of discipline. 3 However, being an African-American during this time was rough. Slaves were not allowed to read and write as their white slave-owners thought they would pass messages along with slaves on other plantations and start a revolt.

During early 19th century, the entrenchment of Southern slavery, there was discussion between planters who benefitted from it and abolitionists who fought against it. Most Americans, especially those in Southern states, understood that slavery system could not help parting from their economic and social system. Southern slavery system brought big economical benefits. However, it negatively influenced American society as a whole rather that positively.

During the colonial period early American settlers came up with the idea to bring African natives overseas to America and use them as slaves. The white man was higher up than the black man in society at the time because of the color of his skin. Americans consider this the biggest blight on our history. The shame of this period in our history still continues today for many whites, but many blacks still feel angry and oppressed. With the election of our first black president, we are really showing how anything is possible here in America and that it doesn’t matter what color or ethnicity you are.

Slavery was a harsh system that consisted of forcing other human beings to work in harsh conditions; as well as restrict their freedom to the point where they had none. Slavery was first introduced into Colonial America in 1619, and lasted for 245 years. During those 245 years, slavery harshly affected those who were involved in its system. The institution of slavery has profoundly influenced and shaped multiple aspects of Colonial America and the United States. Slavery influenced the 13 Colonies and the U.S. by the growth in sales for Cotton, and farming. Slavery shaped Colonial America and the United States culturally, by proving to the slaves that white people were far more superior than African Americans, religion and Cult of Domesticity. Lastly slavery shaped Colonial America and the United States politically by causing rebellions, and abolitionism.

Historically, the era of slavery in the early United States is defined by its impacts on the African-American community, yet the origin story of slavery seems to be forgotten. Slavery was started through the practice of indentured servitude, which allowed poor Europeans to immigrate to the colonies in exchange for being servants. This practice, known as indentured servitude, would end up being the first step in the evolution of what later became American slavery. Yet, though the first step towards slavery began with white servants, the connection between white servitude and black slavery seems to be forgotten in history. With both black slaves and white servants suffering from similar practices and the fact that indentured servitude developed

African Americans played an important role in the Revolutionary War. The slaves fought against their race and more. At this time slaves had no human rights, because of that, some ran away. Enslaved people could not legally marry in any American Colony or State. Slaves had to fight for their lives and rights. Some colonial states like Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut still considered African Americans as property at this time.( National Humanities Center.org). Another affect the slaves faced was being separated from their families.

According to Ira Berlin's essay "The role of African-Americans in the abolition of slavery," despite the role of slavery in causing the American Civil War, Northerners and Southerners alike did not envision slaves having a viable role in fighting for their freedom. However, as the war progressed, it became increasingly clear that slaves could play a role in the conflict to help the Northern side. The Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent conscription of African-Americans had a very practical purpose: it demonstrated that the Union was on the 'side' of enslaved blacks and enabled African-Americans to prove their readiness to become citizens. At first there was tremendous opposition to these policies: merely because people supported the Union did not mean they believed in equality of the races. Even in the North, there was initial resistance to returning slaves to their owners after war was declared. Anti-slavery congressmen took great passed a resolution declaring it 'no part of the duty of the soldiers of the United States to capture and return fugitive slaves" only with great effort (Berlin et al 428). As black Americans, including escaped slaves began to play a more and more critical role in the war effort and eventually, the abolitionist view began to become more accepted. Escaped and freed slaves served in military camps as cooks, nurses, laundresses and labor, and bridged the social

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.

Slavery was the life of the African American of how they suffered and how they were treated, and even though all this was happening they still tried to keep their family together no matter what was happening. First, in a slave's life family's where separated (chapter nine-page 433) ''A husband or wife could be sold' Quote 1. means that a wife or a husband can be sold to a new owner and they will have to leave their families and their children, but their children will stay with an aunt or uncle. Also, the slave they could not get married but they say a phrase that says ''until death or separation do us part.'' They will say this to keep a promise to each other. Also, the salves had their own culture (chapter nine-page 433) ''These native-born African American practiced their African customs''. Quote 2. means that the African Americans enjoyed their traditions. They told stories to their grandchildren. Even though they were slaves I think they should not sale each one if they are going to sell them at least let their family go with them. Also, they tried to be happy in their own way.

Back when there was Slavery it was unfair to some people, at least to the African Americans. By unfair I mean the whites, like most of us would torture the Africans. Some of the things the owners did was made the slaves work in fields without pay and they had no control over their own self, their owner did. But, if they were not doing, that the owners would do something bad like whip them with a whip with metal on the end.

Slavery in the Americas began with the Native Americans but because they either died from diseases or escaped because of their better knowledge of the land, European landowners in need of slaves turned to Africa. The Europeans found that the Africans were less susceptible to disease and would not run away because they did not know the terrain. From 1500 to around 1880 c.e. about ten to twelve million Africans were transported to the Americas on slave ships. This would cause the African slaves to have a big impact on how the Americas developed, socially and politically.

In American history, every event and person plays a part in the future. For example, rich plantation owners helped America advance their economy. However, that would not have been at all possible without the help of their slaves. The time and institution of slavery is a time of historical remembrance. It played a primary role during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The treatment, labor conditions, and personal stories of these slaves’ treatment and labor conditions are all widely discussed around the world to this day.