Slavery in the United States Left an Unforgettable Mark on American Society - Coursework Example

Name of Student: Student No: Course: Date: Slavery in the United States Left an Unforgettable Mark on American Society INTRODUCTION The North American continent undoubtedly underwent major changes between the years 1450-1750 that would eventually fundamentally transform it in ways unimaginable at the time. European settlers came to the Americas during this period and proceeded to encounter, transform and effectively destroy the world of Native Americans. Further to that, explorers who had reached the continent of Africa soon began the trans-Atlantic trade that would see millions of Africans transported and sold as slaves in the Americas. The slave trade would eventually come to define the socio-economic lives of the two races; Caucasian and Negro (PBS, 2011). By the time of the advent of the American Revolution, a fifth of the population in the thirteen colonies of the United States were of African descent. Although slavery was legal in all colonies, the economic activities of the south propagated the practise which was first made legal in Massachusetts in 1641. In the period of the American Revolution, more than 50% of all Negroes resided in Virginia and Maryland, majority of who were slaves (Toppin, 1976). It was well recognised as a moral inconsistency that this slavery existed in a nation whose foundation was based on the inviolability of individual freedom. While all thirteen states recognised slavery as legal at the declaration of independence in 1775, by the ratification of the constitution thirteen years later, five states had abolished it (Olmstead, 1947). The end of slavery in 1865 was followed by reconstruction which was finalised in 1877. Thereafter, the freed slaves were left to their own devices after centuries of having their every thought, word and deed dictated to them by their masters. It is against this backdrop that this essay intends to undertake an examination of this period of time and what mark it has left on the minds of modern Americans, as well as what impact it has had on my mind. ABOUT THE FAÇADE OF TOTAL CONTROL OVER SLAVERY In order to get an accurate picture of how the slavery system involving predominantly Negroid slaves was set up, it is necessary to begin at the beginning. It should be noted that slavery was already practised in the Americas and elsewhere on the planet. However, this was the beginning of slavery based solely upon race. In 1620 the Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts with a group of servants who were not designated as slaves. These servants were fashioned upon indentured labour and usually set free when they attained 25 years of age as was similar to English apprenticeships (Johnson, nd) Four years later, the Dutch who began to delve into the trade in 1621 through formation of the Dutch West Indies Co. began to import Negroes to work on Hudson Valley farms. In Dutch law, the offspring of freed slaves are themselves bound to slavery (Davis and Neal-Davis). By 1640 whipping and branding were used as a form of punishment for slaves as well as being bound in shackles (Turncliff, 1926). This may seem a harsh punishment to us in the 21st Century but then the only difference between a slave and a free man then, was that the former was not subjected to trial. When a Virginia slave known as Emmanuel was caught trying to escape in 1640, he was branded with the letter R, and whipped and put in shackles for as long as his owner saw fit. (Turncliff, 1926). However, when Arthur Notool was caught burglarising a property in 1664, he stood trial, was able to defend himself, but was convicted. He claimed benefit of clergy and therefore instead of being hanged, he was branded on the hand (Sawyer, 1990). The point being that brutality seems to have been an inherent feature of punishment and penalties for any perceived wrong. The difference between slaves and free men of Caucasian persuasion was that the latter could offer some defence of their action and hope to be freed. According to the Underground Railroad chronology, slavery was legalised in Massachusetts in 1641 and Virginia enacted a law to fine anyone who harboured a runaway slave in 1642. This fine was 20 pounds of tobacco per night that the slave was harboured. Slaves captured after a second escape attempt are branded. By 1650, some of the indentured servants had gained their freedom and there was a scarcity of replacements. This led Virginia landowners to emulate their Caribbean counterparts and adopt ‘perpetual servitude’. According to Compton’s Encyclopaedia. Thus from history, it can be seen that the law was used as a weapon to control slaves and perpetuate slavery. This was supported by the success of tobacco as a cash crop that was labour intensive. It then became, in the minds of these planters, a necessity to keep slaves since they were unable to farm the land on their own, and the so-called Indians were very susceptible to white man’s illnesses such as measles as well as being on their home soil and therefore able to escape (Minges, nd). From a historical perspective it is possible to see the necessity in the farmer’s point of view, to have these slaves available in order to work the land; pragmatism dictates that the logic of the strategy was sound. Morally however, the sale of one human being by another and their reduction to a commodity cannot in any way be justified. Considering the so-called Christian values of the first Pilgrims that landed in Massachusetts, this aspect should have been a consideration. Why it was not may boil down to class issues as propagated by their home country, the United Kingdom, in which not all people are created equal and therefore, may not have been entitled, in the minds of the Pilgrims, to equal treatment. JUSTIFICATION FOR SLAVERY After the war for independence had been won in the United States, there were still migrants coming in from Europe – some as free men, others as indentured servants. They brought with them their culture, history and attitudes. Africans also continue to arrive, but on slave ships from whence they were sold into ‘perpetual servitude.’ The native people of America also suffered under the new immigrants, those not conscripted as slaves became internally displaced persons. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 resulted in various tribes in the East being forced to travel along the ‘Trail of Tears’ to Oklahoma, there to be consigned to reservations – if they survived the journey. All these acts found justification in the Christian Bible. The Africans were not designated as Christians and therefore were considered to be less than human and therefore not worthy to be treated in any humane manner. The treatment of the natives was rationalised via the book of Joshua with the Puritans as latter day Jews conquering the ‘Canaanites’ of the New World. They believed that God had elected them as the new chosen ones and looked on their colonisation efforts as a triumph of Christians over unbelievers. (Beach, 1998) At the time of Independence, there were more than half a million slaves in the Americas, a majority of whom were located in the five southernmost states. Of those who signed the declaration of independence, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and James Madison were slave owners. Benjamin Franklin is on record as calling it an ‘atrocious debasement of human nature’ and was responsible with Benjamin Rush of establishing the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery in 1774 (Spalding, 2002). In the South, where the growth of slavery was correspondent to the economy, various arguments were forwarded as to the justification of slavery. These arguments included the allegation that Biblical references inferred that slavery was approved by God because the Israelites kept slaves, Jesus did not specifically condemn it and St. Paul supported it. They also declared that blacks were an inferior race and therefore were better off as property of the superior white people who would look after them. furthermore, the slaves themselves were said to be contented with their lot, being fed, clothed and housed by their masters, and taught about Christianity- when compared to Northern immigrant workers working in industrial centres and living in squalid environments that is. Slavery was also touted as the key to the nation’s prosperity and to tamper with it would cause collapse of the entire United States economy. Slavery was also touted as the reason America was able to get independence, as four of the first five presidents owned slaves. Last but not least, all past great civilisations condoned slavery such as Egypt, Rome and Greece (Stevenson, nd). In my opinion, it is obvious that for as long as the slaves were needed, the owners would find reasons why or excuses why they could not be set free. Indeed, the Bible has been abused by many in just such a way, including the Devil who used the scriptures to tempt Jesus three times. The owners had lived with the practise for so long they probably actually believed what they said. However, those who know better or who are not blinded by prejudice cannot help but feel that more should have been done to rectify the situation. MY THOUGHTS The facet of slavery that is most disturbing from my point of view is the inadvertence of its beginning. A phenomenon whose repercussions are felt even in present day America began almost as an accident. It feels as though, this monster that turned out to be the single most defining detail in the lives of modern African Americans should at least been a deliberate effort carried out by malevolent individuals intent on destroying the racial identity of an entire race. Instead, it was a series of circumstances and conveniences that led from the first twenty slaves, being sold in Jamestown from a Dutch vessel in 1619 (Robinson, 1971) to half a million at the attainment of Independence 160 odd years later. Along the way, laws were enacted to keep them from escaping or being free, or keeping their own names purely for the purposes of economics, security and convenience. They were treated like animals because it was easier than treating them like fellow human beings. As a result, wounds are present in this country, wounds so deep that very few like to delve into the discussions of the same. They are shoved under the carpet under the premise of people being ‘politically correct’ and out of a desire not to appear ‘racist’. Perhaps because it is not convenient to do so or economically sound or good for the security of the bourgeoisie. It could be that we have learned nothing from the lessons of history. Works Cited Beach, M.C. An excerpt from The Bible the Book the Bridges the Millennia. Maxine Clark Beach, 1998. Print Compton's Encyclopaedia Online. Retrieved 30th September, 2011 from http://www.comptons.com/encyclopedia/ Davis, R. and Neal-Davis, W. (nd) Chronology: A Historical Review, Major Events in Black History 1492 thru 1953. Retrieved 30th September, 2011 http://innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html Johnson, Caleb. "Mayflower Web Pages." Were there any blacks on the Mayflower? By Caleb Johnson member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Retrieved 30th September, 2011 http://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html Minges, P. Beneath the Underdog: Race, Religion and the "Trail of Tears" Union Seminary Quarterly Review Union Theological Seminary, New York. Nd. Print Olmsted, Frederick, Law, Arthur M. Schlesinger Ed. The Cotton Kingdom (1953); Nevins, Allan, Ordeal of the Union (1947). Print PBS online. (2011). Africans in America. Retrieved 30th September, 2011 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/narrative.html Robinson, D. L. Slavery and the Structure of American Politics, 1765 - 1820. NY: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1971. Print Sawyer, J. K. “‘Benefit of Clergy’ in Maryland and Virginia. The American Journal of Legal History 34:1 (Jan., 1990), 49-60. Print Spalding, M. (Eds). The Founders' Almanac: A Practical Guide to the Notable Events, Greatest Leaders & Most Eloquent Words of the American Founding. Print Stevenson, Brenda. "Slavery in America" in Underground Railroad. Official National Park Handbook produced by the National Park Service. Print Toppin, E, A. "Blacks in the American Revolution" published essay, Virginia State University, p. 1, 1976. Print Tunnicliff, H.H. Charles P.M. Outwin. Securing the Leg Irons: Restriction of Legal Rights for Slaves in Virginia and Maryland, 1625 – 1791, footnote Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro, vol. I, Cases from the Courts of England, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and vol. IV, Cases from the Courts of New England, the Middle States, and the District of Columbia. Washington, D. C., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Page 77(1926) Underground Railroad Chronology, National Park Service. Retrieved 30th September, 2011 http://www.nps.gov/boaf/urrtim~1.htm Read More