America During the Time the Slave Codes Were in Force - Essay Example

The legal status of slaves was quite uncertain in the 17th century but in 1664, the first legislation for slaves was passed by Maryland that said, all “Negroes or other slaves hereafter imported into the province shall serve for life, as should their children. It also stated that any white woman who forgot her status and married a slave would have to serve the master of her husband. All children born into such a union would be slaves as well (Middleton, pg. 324).

Around 1680, there was an increase in the purchase of slaves since there were fewer whites to do the jobs. Another reason for the increase was the abolition of the Royal African Company's monopoly of trade. Therefore slaves were used to grow crops and vegetables, maintain livestock, and also used as craft and industrial workers.

The Quakers were the first group to take up the issue of slavery and its codes. The existing slave codes in the colonies deprived the slaves of their basic human rights while providing the opportunity to slaveholders to exercise ruthless control over their slaves. Another revolutionary leader, James Otis, called this “the most shocking violation of the law of nature.” He too fought against slavery and in 1807 the Federal government put an end to the trading of slaves from Africa.

Question 2:

Right through history, the people who held power tended to side-track or marginalize the people who do not have any power. In the same way, they never failed to make use of the resources as well as the technologies of the people they dominate, yet they have neglected to give due credit to them or even acknowledge them. This is mutual where Europeans and Indians are concerned.

Before slavery was abolished, agriculture was the predominant occupation during the colonial period. Blacks as well as American Indian slaves were utilized to grow crops such as flax, apples, and onions. They were also used in the production of dairy products, fish, and whale oil which were very important commercial products and hence trade and commerce flourished to a great extent.

Migrants from different parts of the world came either voluntarily or involuntarily in search of greener pastures to America and were a sort of intrusion into the already highly developed and sophisticated societies there. This mixing of people had a direct impact on the Europeans because of the cultures and societies that were so different. Both complimented each other by imbibing bits of culture, religion, language, and other important traits from each other. Though the Indians lost in the long run, they gained a lot from the Europeans which they used for their own development.