Slavery

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the institution, practice and effects of slavery in the United States. The paper begins with a thorough explanation of how slavery began and its roots in indentured servitude. Then the paper traces the process of the slave trade, with exacting detail about the conditions and treatment slaves faced on their voyage from Africa. The paper also discusses the buying and selling of slaves once they arrived in America and the varying treatment they received from their masters. Also explored is the labor they performed and conditions in which they lived and worked. Next, the paper examines the impact of slavery on the psyche of slaves, as individuals, families and communities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Civil War and the ultimate dissolution of the institution of slavery by President Lincoln.

From the Paper:

"The beginning of slavery in the New World has some surprising origins. Slaves actually began as "indentured servants" in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. (Volume Library) In return for an employee paying for their trip to the New World, a person agreed to work off the debt as the employee's servant. They were contracted to work for a period of time. Once they had fulfilled their contractual obligations, they were considered free. Many even obtained their own land and began to contract their own indentured servants. Indentured servants were both Blacks from Africa and Whites from Europe. From 1619 until 1640, these workers earned their freedom. (Journey From Slavery to Freedom) Black servants, white servants, and their employers often worked side by side in the fields. Historians agree that the early colonists did not at first intend to create a system of human bondage. (American History)"

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