Early US Slavery - Free Essay Example

Introduction

During the early days of slavery, both black and white captives were oppressed and exploited in this period when racial ambiguity "had not yet developed into rigid caste lines." The racial ambiguity diminished, leading to the development of rigid castle lines as black slaves were favored compared to the white servants. The latter led to the development of slavery and race in the United States as it is known today. At the time of recess of American capitalism and its modalities at around 1600s, those who owned land and plantations in America preferred white indentured servants to the blacks. However, as time passed, there was an apparent increase in favor of black slaves over the white servants. Two factors promoted the shift from white to black slaves' preference; legislation and economic factors. The favor of black slaves saw racial ambiguity develop into rigid castle lines. The racial variations led to the development of labor laws and citizens' rights as individuals started to focus on the fight against the institution of slavery by advocating for the equal rights of whites and blacks.

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Economic Factors

Economic factors played a significant role in developing race and slavery as black slaves were favored since they could provide the needed labor force in the plantations for less amount or for free for an extended period. Black slaves could be bought and owned to work in the fields compared to the white servants who were not much exploited. The slave owners started to view blacks as lesser humans subjected them to harsh working conditions without pay hence leading to the development of the race and slavery institutions. The legislation also helped develop racial differences and slavery institutions as it furthered racial tensions over and against tensions based on class. The black people were subjected to severe punishments for wrongdoings as compared to the whites. They were also denied their rights, such as holding arms or meeting in large groups. The fact that the black people were denied most of their rights due to their skin color, the land-owners took this opportunity to exploit them as it was easy and with no consequences since blacks' rights were not safeguarded.

Legislations

Additionally, legislations present during those times permitted the white people to exploit black folks. White workers were regularly used to punish as well as abuse the black slaves. The legislation also allowed black's food and farm animals to be confiscated and given to poor whites. These events highlighted the white people's social status as above that of the blacks, hence further solidifying their camaraderie to one another, which led to increased animosity between the two races. This led to establishing a society in which an individual could be abused and enslaved based on nothing more than just his or her skin color.

Conclusion

Due to the numerous issues presented by racial discrimination and slavery, individuals started advocating for the labor laws and citizen's rights, which was aimed at abolishing slavery, which led to uprisings such as the Bacon's Rebellion. The Bacon's Rebellion was due to Governor Berkeley's refusal to retaliate for attacks on frontier settlements from the Native Americans. The Rebellion outcome is that both white and black indentured servants were involved hence hardening and hastening racial lines associated with slavery. Takaki views the Bacon's Rebellion results as a stepping stone to civil movements that were aimed at addressing racial divisions and differences.

Bibliography

Takaki, Ronald. A different mirror: A history of multicultural America (Revised edition). eBookIt. com, 2012. Retrieved from:
https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0XSUH8kxFuYC&oi=fnd&pg=PT13&dq=ronald+takaki+a+different+mirror&ots=PWTMRqF2ex&sig=Bu3o6D3Smgrp0s9v3oicopLfDVo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=ronald%20takaki%20a%20different%20mirror&f=false.