History of Slavery in the United States

Slavery is the process through which people are held captives and used for labor provisions by their grand masters. The act was common in prior centuries in across the globe, especially in the United States and other regions that were involved in colonization. Slavery present in American soil is believed to have begun in the 17^th century up to the incepting and middle years of the 18^th century. The act was halted through the implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment. During this implementation, the estimated amount of slaves residing in the United States was at a whopping 4 million. African-Americans were considered to have the greatest amount of people considered as slaves. Literary critics have stated how the population had continuously incremented in number, and also thrived in other facets of life. However, despite these experienced positive growth in these communities, they were still subjected under harsh living and working conditions. They were denied all the freedom and rights that were freely awarded to their fellow white counterparts. Research conducted on slavery in the northern region of the United States discovered that Native Americans were the initial persons to ever experience slavery. Proponents have also stated how “various communities that originally occupied some of the regions in the United States were involved in the slavery practice even before they were hit by the colonists” (Lowance, 24. Continued advancements in the economic status of America led to creation of a platform where labor sector lacked enough suppliers of services. The creation of various productions plants like that of tobaccos established in Virginia, and the emergence of persons like John Rolfe led to the continuous increment in the demand for slaves across the United States in the 17^th and 18^th century. The essay is going to extensively discuss the processes and reasons that led to the continued increase of the slavery act in the United States.

The developments experienced in the United States meant that a substantial amount labor provisions was required for purposes of continuity for the economy. Africans were considered to be the best option for these conditions due to various factors. Literary analysts have stated that “these persons were believed to be physically fit and also able to endure tough weather conditions” (McAfee, 63). White slaves were therefore relieved from the provision of hard labor due to the belief that termed them as strength deprived in contrast to their fellow black counterparts. Africans were believed to possess extra amounts of power that would lead to the creation of a platform where productivity will be maximized extensively. Research conducted on the reasons as to why the slavery acted persisted, especially towards the western region demonstrated that Africans were unable to organize resistance systems. This is considered so due to the fact that these persons were imported from varying locations. The fact that most of the African-Americans were extracted from different positions meant that they were unable to develop an understanding due to language barrier. This favored their masters since they were able to command and import more people from Africa, therefore leading to the immense expansion of slavery. Research conducted on the incremented abandonment of enslaving members from the white dynasty discovered that the catalytic factors mostly originated from distance. Most of the slaves considered whites were believed to have been captured in their own homeland, and therefore had the capacity of formulating resistance against the slavery acts. African-Americans on the other hand were located far away from their homeland, and also experienced limitations like language barrier among them. This ignited the interests of the participants of slavery leading to the creation of a platform where these individuals were imported in incremented quantities into the United States for labor provisioning purposes. Also, considerations made on some of the African countries prove that most of the leaders in these regions encouraged the act. The leaders in Western African countries sold their own people as slaves for profits.

The 17^th century was also characterized by the continuous implementation of social conventions and laws that encouraged the practice of slavery in most British colonies in the United States. The incremented amount of work that demanded for labor provisions in the southern region of America also led to increase in the number of slaves required. The Northern region was characterized by decremented amounts of slaves due to the fact that it was not suitable for the plantation of crops like tobacco. Proponents have stated that Virginia was considered to be the hotbed of slavery acts in contrast to all the other regions present in the United States during the 17^th and 18^th century (McLoughlin, 36). Virginian representatives were involved in the development and implementation of laws that led to the creation of a platform where the act of slavery was considered legitimate. The introduced set of laws was mostly considered to embrace biasness extensively due to its selective nature the process of slave selection. People discovered to have African roots was at a high risk of being captured and treated as a slave by the responsible persons. Research conducted on the status and conditions stated in the laws implemented in Virginia State that slaves were referred to as property. Slave masters had the authority of doing whatever they pleased with the slaves they had possessed. Despite the fact that other laws were enforced in the preceding years that led to the alteration of slavery, the ones implemented in the 17^th century acted as the basis that propelled these advancements. Slavery continually advanced in the Southern region, especially due to increments in the population of the slaves. The practice was finally considered to be primary source of labor provisions in the United States during these periods.

The fact that the business based in the transportation of slaves was considered lucrative was one of the major factors that led to the continuous increment in the slavery practice. The shipping firms were mainly based in New England. Their involved in the Middle Passage process led to the emergence of a platform where they immensely profited. Research conducted on the continued increments in the population of African slaves throughout existence proves that they enjoyed better living conditions (Searing, 45). These individuals are believed to have been subjected under conditions that favored their natural developmental processes. Continued developments in the United States in the preceding centuries proved that slaver was slowly losing its traction. The tobacco business had begun facing chronic conditions that led to the emergence of various alterations in its operations. This therefore proved that the services required to be provided to the industry, especially by the slaves had also declined. Representatives in the government began getting involved in conversations that were directed towards the abolition of slavery in most of the regions in the United States. Slavery is a condition that was continuously embraced in the United States in prior centuries due to the developmental processes that led to increased demands of labor provisions. Most of the slaves were mostly extracted from Africa due to the belief that they were physically strong and had the ability of enduring the tough conditions subjected to them by their masters. The preceding times that ensued in the American history is characterized by the abolition of the slavery acts across the whole region.

Works Cited

• Lowance, Mason I., ed. A house divided: the antebellum slavery debates in America, 1776-1865. Princeton University Press, 2003.
• McAfee, Ward M., ed. The slaveholding republic: an account of the United States government’s relations to slavery. Oxford University Press, 2002.
• McLoughlin, William G. “Red Indians, Black Slavery and White Racism: America’s Slaveholding Indians.” American Quarterly26.4 (1974): 367-385.
• Searing, James F. West African Slavery and Atlantic Commerce: The Senegal River Valley, 1700-1860. Vol. 77. Cambridge University Press, 2003.