Slavery

Slavery in America began shortly after the English colonists settled in Virginia. It continued until the thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed. Between 1654 and 1865, slavery was legal for the life of the slave in America. Most slaves were shipped to the US from Africa and held by whites, although there were also a large number of Native Americans who were held as slaves, and free blacks also held slaves during this period. The majority of slave owners were located in the southern region of America.

According to US census reports from 1860, there were almost four millions slaves held in America and a total population of just over 12 million people combined in the 15 states which legalized slavery. Most households held only a few slaves. The majority of slaves during this period were owned by planters. Planters typically held at least 20 slaves, some many more. The wealth of America during the first half of the 1800s was due greatly to the labor provided by African Americans. With the Union victory in the Civil War, slave ownership was abolished in the South, which led to the decline of the antebellum Southern economy. Large cotton plantations found it difficult to survive due to the loss of cheap labor. The Northern industries grew even further ahead of the South’s agricultural economy. The planters of the South lost significant power temporarily.

During the American slavery period, there were an estimated twelve million black Africans shipped to the United States during the period from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Approximately 654,000 of these were brought to what is now the United States. A large majority were also shipped to Brazil. The very first record of African slavery in America was in 1619. The White Lion, a Dutch ship, captured 20 Africans enslaved upon a Spanish ship that was headed to Mexico. Upon capturing the Spanish ship the slaves were then taken to America. During the earlier years of slavery, indentured servants were freed after a specific stated period and given the use of land and supplies by their former owners. Anthony Johnson, an African American slave, became a landowner on the Eastern shore of America and eventually became a slave owner himself.

The transition from indentured servant to racial slave happened over a period of several years. In Virginia, there were no laws that regarded slavery. By 1640 however, the Virginia courts had sentenced at least one black servant to slavery. John Casor became the very first black man to be legally recognized as a slave in the United States.

As the United States expanded toward the west, the cultivation of cotton and the institution of slavery expanded also. From 1790 to 1860 there were an estimated 1,000,000 slaves who were moved west. In 1830 there were 3,775 slaveholders in the South who were black themselves or held some black ancestry. These slaveholders were primarily located in Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.

Slave owners during these periods were authorized to whip, beat and otherwise brutalize slaves whom they felt were being insubordinate. Slave breeding and sexual exploitation were other issues that plantation owners forced upon their captives. Slaves were considered to be legal non-persons unless they committed a crime. Many states felt that slaves were incapable of performing civil acts because they were merely things or possessions and not people. Many believe that because slaves were fed, clothed, housed and provided medical care that they were treated with the utmost respect. Others argue that American slavery leaves behind a legacy of pain, fear and death for those who were unwilling to be held against their will..