There is no Such Thing as Rest - Essay Example

This was an organized mechanism of bonded labor in the colonial America. This system supplied cheap work force for the cash crop plantations of coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, etc. The events like large scale industrialization of Britain and its continued colonial expansion coupled with warfare contributed to the establishment of slavery. Africans either migrated to America for economic reasons or they were conquered, captured, and transported across the Atlantic by the slave traders and militarily superior colonists.

With the lapse of time, indentured servitude culminated into chattel slavery where a human being (generally a Black African) and his/her offspring would be absolutely owned by the master (generally a White European). Events like the enactment of a stronger and stricter slave code in the year 1705 and significant presence of the pro-slavery politicians during the late 1770s firmly established slavery in the U.S. (Schneider and Schneider, 2007) Moreover, the writings of Northrup (1853) reveal that cheap and forced labor coupled with brutal techniques to obtain high production rates were necessary for the economic power of the Whites.

Economic domination and exploitation thus remained a major stimulant behind this system. 2. Tradition behind Slavery Institution of slavery as a tradition along with its legal evolution continued for more than one and a half century before President Lincoln abolished slavery in 1865 through the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The “white supremacist social system and national political force” (Gilpin, 2011) itself remained a traditional framework that strengthened the exploitative socio-political order and the politico-economic theory behind it.

According to this tradition, Blacks are racially inferior. Although they may be physically strong, they do not have intellectual ability. God has created them for the service of White men and women. Blacks almost never had an option but to surrender before the military superiority and political organization of the Whites. Apart from racist traditions, economic traditions also play a key role to keep people under slavery. Chattel slavery provided cheap labor force to the rich Whites residing particularly in the southern states like Florida, Georgia, etc.

and this remained an imperative for the success of traditional economic views as instituted by “reactionary conservatism” (Gilpin, 2011). Despite the fact that slavery is illegal in modern USA, traditions of White supremacist culture and philosophy still exist; overtly or covertly. 3. Racial Prejudice and Discrimination Before exploring the major factors that contribute to racial prejudice and discrimination against African-Americans, we must carefully note that the condition of Blacks in this context has considerably improved in today’s America.

However, the factor of racial purity has been a major consideration. During the height of slave labor in the U.S., the Southern culture strongly prohibited sexual contact and relationship between White women and Black men. However, White men were encouraged to have sexual contacts with Black women, which resulted into sexual slavery and domination. In this context, rape of Black women by White men remained another contributing factor (Moon, 2004). However, in today’s United States, interracial sex and relationships do take place between White wom