Analysis of Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice Article - Essay Example

Prof: Political Science: Article Analysis Degler (1959) in his article, Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice emphasizes the point that the white man’s prejudice against the Negros did not have its beginning during slavery, but was already carved out in a system that relegated the black people to a class of inferior individuals. Degler states that, “… the status of the Negro in the English colonies was worked out in a framework of discrimination; that from the outset, as far as the available evidence tells us, the negro was treated inferior to the white man’s servant of the free man” (Degler 52). Degler in this statement puts a halt to the discussion on what came first between slavery and discrimination and asserts that slavery evolved from the continued discrimination of the Negro by the white man, partly because there were no structures to protect Negros in America. Consequently, slavery evolved as a legal status and an epitome to discrimination. Degler seeks to differentiate the difference in the treatment of Negros in the Spanish and Portuguese Iberian region to that of the British. He explains that the major differences were that while the former had already fixed legal status to deal with the Negro even before they ventured into America, the same structures lacked in British territories. Secondly, Degler explains that the “the discrimination against the negro antedated the legal status of slavery” (Degler 52). These were the main facts that differentiated British treatment of the Negros from the Spanish and the Portuguese. Degler in his argument makes a clear statement that slavery in the North American region left a considerably different mark on the status of Negros compared to the South American region, which according to Degelr explains the current cases of racism in America. Degelr asserts that as Handlin asserted, before the seventeenth century, the term slavery was not in use. However, Degler is fast to clarify that the fact that the discriminatory name did not exist does not indicate there was similar treatment between the Negro and the freeman. The gradual slipping of the Negro into slavery marked a period when institutions were being developed to establish a discriminatory status that led to slavery. This was particularly observed in the great variations in the nature of slavery across the British North America, “the important point is that from the 1630s up until slavery clearly appeared in the statutes in the 1660s; the negroes were being set a part compared to the treatment accorded to Englishmen, whether free or servants” (Degler 53). Degler critically examines the work of Lefroy (1877), Memorials of the discovery and early settlement of the Bermudas or Somers islands 1515 to 1685 to show that the status of Negros in the society was a condemned one long before slavery was well pronounced. For instance, Lefroy explains that in 1617 when the first Negroes entered Bermuda, in 1623 barely five years after, the assembly passed an “Act to restrayne the insolences of negroes” (Degler 55). The blacks were being accused of a myriad of things among them carrying weapons secretly, were prohibited from wearing any weapon during the daytime, and were prevented from being outside their master’s land in odd night hours. These treatments portray a pre-mediated status of the Negros, as a second class being long before slavery became a remarkable defining status of the black man. A clear indication to this as Degler further delves into Lefroy’s work is the case of a Lew Forde, who possessed a Negro man while a company owned his wife; Forde in addition desired to know among the two children from the negro couple, “which of the two children properly belonged to himself and which to the company” (Degler 55). The council allowed him to keep the older child, while the company was awarded the younger one, dividing the Negro family in the middle. These incidences portray great discrimination of the black man as a life servant and as a property to the white man, which negates the assertion that discrimination emerged from slavery, but confirms of deeply rooted discrimination of the Negro long before slavery. Degler through Lefroy’s work offers a good number of accounts that clearly indicate the extent to which discrimination was prevalent. Degler makes a strong case towards his point as the former offers a number of practical accounts that indicated wide-ranging discrimination practices. In addition, Degler uses Lefory’s account where some Negros asked the governor if they could be freed in 1669, with the governor denying them the freedom, as they had been “purchased by their masters without condition or limitation” (Degler 55). Degler extensively used the work of Handlin to emphasize that discrimination of the Negros started long before slavery. Though Degler uses Handlin’s work to support his case, some of Handlin’s assertions negate Degler’s point of discussion. Degler is not convinced with Handlin’s explanation of the slow status in which slavery appeared in statutes, “the question as to why slavery was slow in appearing in statutes is to me, not convincing” (Degler 50). Degler objects to any assertion that while there was no slavery before 1660, at one time the white servant and the Negro were treated alike. According to Degler, Handlin does not adequately show that the position of the white man’s servant improved before 1660. However, he agrees with Handlin on cases that indicate that discrimination was manifested long before slavery. For instance, Degler agrees with Handlin that in Maryland and Virginia, Negros were not included in any contract fixing the limit of terms for a servant who entered with no written contract, “Negroes were not included in such protective provisions” ( Degler 57), to show the pre-determined status of the negro. On the other hand, while no white servant was denied the rights to bear arms, Negros were prevented from possessing arms. In most cases, Degler finds Handlin treatment of case shallow and not convincing. For instance, Handling suggests that restriction of Negros to bear arms was repealed, and that Negros did not “add up to a decided trend” (Degler 57). The perceived fluctuations of the right of Negros to bear arms as Handlin argues is not conniving to Deglar in that Handlin uses weaker sources that do not substantiate enough how Negroes were allowed to bear arms, while all legislation was against such an attempt. Therefore, to Degler, there was no fluctuation of the right of Negros to bear arms as Handlin accentuates. Degler’s treatment of the subject is critical as he delves deep into detail and makes abstract meaning form legislation and practices that were prevalent even before the coining of the term ‘slave’ to show that discrimination was prevalent in North America. Degler blames the British for the discrimination due to lack of statutes that addressed the status of Negros, compared to the Spaniards and Portuguese. He paints the British as discriminatory long before slavery and asserts that slavery was a manifestation of discrimination. This explains the high rates of racism in North American compared to South America. Work Cited Degler, N. Carl. Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 2.1(1959) 49-66 Handlin, F. Mary and Oscar. Origins of the Southern Labor System. The William and Mary Islands, 1515-1685. London: Harvard university Press, 1877 Lefroy, J.H. Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Quarterly Third Series, 7.2 (Apr., 1950), 199-222 Read More