Did race prejudice cause slavery? Or was it the other way round?
Winthrop D. Jordan, in his monumental study of white American
attitudes to black people from 1550 to 1812, argues that prejudice and
slavery may well have been equally cause and effect, 'dynamically
joining hands to hustle the Negro down the road to complete
degradation. But we must go deeper than that, if we are to understand
the rise of English racism as an ideology, the various roles it has
played in the past, and the role it is playing today. And first we
must distinguish between race prejudice and racism
Sudden or limited contact between different nations or ethnic groups
gives rise, as a rule, to all kinds of popular beliefs. Such beliefs
spring from ignorance, fear, and the need to find a plausible
explanation for perplexing physical and cultural differences. Speci
fic false beliefs about other nations or other human varieties tend to
be corrected, sooner or later, by observation and experience. But race
prejudice in general is no less persistent than other oral traditions
containing a substantial irrational element. It is especially
persistent in communities that are ethnically homogeneous,
geographically isolated, technologically backward, or socially
conservative, with knowledge and political power concentrated in the
hands of an elite. Such communities feel threatened by national or
racial differences, and their prejudices serve to reassure them, to
minimize their sense of insecurity, to enhance group cohesion. England
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a classic instance of
such a community - though its geographical isolation was rapidly being
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...ow in the small of my back, that I shrieked with agony,
and thought I was killed; and feel a weakness in that part
to this day (…) I cannot remember how many licks he gave
me then, but he beat me till I was unable to stand, and till
he himself was weary.”4
In conclusion we can see how through the use of propaganda (i.e.
fabrication of black race, identity and culture) white Europeans
convinced themselves (and others) that Blacks were less than human.
They utilized this falsified belief system to enslave black Africans
for their own selfish economic gain. History has proven that the white
Europeans were the real savages. It is true even today in many parts
of the world that blacks suffer discrimination based on the false
stereotypes created during black slavery in the Caribbean and southern
United States.
“evil” shows how unfairly these black Africans were treated (93). The author further justifies the
Winthrop D. Jordan author of White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro 1550-1812, expresses two main arguments in explaining why Slavery became an institution. He also focuses attention on the initial discovery of Africans by English. How theories on why Africans had darker complexions and on the peculiarly savage behavior they exhibited. Through out the first two chapters Jordan supports his opinions, with both facts and assumptions. Jordan goes to great length in explaining how the English and early colonialist over centuries stripped the humanity from a people in order to enslave them and justify their actions in doing so. His focus is heavily on attitudes and how those positions worked to create the slave society established in this country.
According to Blumer (1958) there are numerous key factors that contribute to racial prejudice. First, when Blumer is explaining racial prejudice it is tremendously important to note that when defining racial prejudice he is not looking at an individual‘s feelings in particular, he is analyzing racial prejudice within a group. He states that there is an important relationship that needs to occur between various racial groups in order to have prejudice. The individuals within these racial groups need to identify themselves within a particular group, as well as understand where they stand with another racial group.
During the period of time between 1789 and 1840, there were a lot of major changes occurring on the issue of slavery such as the impact it had towards the economy and the status of slaves in general. There were two types of African Americans slaves during the era, either doing hard cheap labor in a plantation usually owned by a white and being enslaved, or free. Undoubtedly, the enslaved African Americans worked vigorously receiving minimal pay, while on the other hand, the free ones had quite a different lifestyle. The free ones had more freedom, money, land/power, are healthier, younger and some even own plantations. In addition, in 1820 the Missouri compromise took into effect, which made it so states North of the 36°30′ parallel would be free and South would be slave and helped give way to new laws regarding the issue of slavery.
that a majority of the South would have to take an iron clad oath that
Slave’s masters consistently tried to erase African culture from their slave’s memories. They insisted that slavery had rescued blacks form the barbarians from Africa and introduced them to the “superior” white civilization. Some slaves came to believe this propaganda, but the continued influence of African culture in the slave community added slave resistance to the modification of African culture. Some slaves, for example, answered to English name in the fields but use African names in their quarters. The slave’s lives were filled with surviving traits of African culture, and their artwork, music, and other differences reflected this influence.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
In British colonial America, indentured servitude was borne from the Virginia Company out of a need for cheaper labor, and was gradually replaced by African slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries for the same reason. The growth of slavery in America was not a result of racism or intent, but of economic opportunism. Both were exploited for profit to the maximum of the free planters ability, which in the slave’s case, was much more, because there were little to no laws protecting them, and sometimes even laws targeted against them.
As the slave population in the United States of America grew to 500,000 in 1176, documenting slavery as part of the American Revolution became increasingly important. America was rooted in slavery; and it contributed to the economy and social structure. The revolution forced citizens of the new nation to be conscious of slavery and its potential dismissal from every day life. Two articles that prove slavery only succeeded because of the false reality that slave owners created and the conformity to this reality by slaves are; George Fitzhugh who defends the proslavery argument and Frederick Douglass who supports a desire for freedom.
...r own unique ways.; however, the authors focus on different aspects of prejudice and racism, resulting in them communicating different ideas and thoughts that range from racial discrimination to stereotypical attitudes. The range of ideas attempt to engage the readers about the reality of their issues. The reality about a world where prejudice and racism still prevail in modern times. But when will prejudice and racism ever cease to exist? And if they were ever to cease from existence, what does that mean about humankind?
Did Racism cause enslavement of African Americans? To answer this question you have to determine what a slave is? And what Racism is? By my views and believes, slavery is any type of duty somebody does for you. You own them so they work for you otherwise they will get punished. Now Racism is a negative attitude towards another race. After these to words are cleared up you come to a conclusion that racism in the 17th century caused enslavement of African Americans. To believe this you have to look at the history left for us to read. The court papers, and journals of people back in the 17th century.
The concept of race is an ancient construction through which a single society models all of mankind around the ideal man. This idealism evolved from prejudice and ignorance of another culture and the inability to view another human as equal. The establishment of race and racism can be seen from as early as the Middle Ages through the present. The social construction of racism and the feeling of superiority to people of other ethnicities, have been distinguishably present in European societies as well as America throughout the last several centuries.
In order to justify keeping an entire race of people enslaved, slaveholders claimed that blacks were inferior to whites, placing them on the same level as livestock and other animals. “There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrow examination” (73). The fact is, whites are not naturally superior over blacks. Therefore, slaveholders used a variety of contrived strategies to make their case that blacks were inherently inferior to whites. To...
Racism and prejudice has been present in almost every civilization and society throughout history. Even though the world has progressed greatly in the last couple of decades, both socially and technologically, racism, hatred and prejudice still exists today, deeply embedded in old-fashioned, narrow-minded traditions and values.
The term slave is defined as a person held in servitude as the chattel of another, or one that is completely passive to a dominating influence. The most well known cases of slavery occurred during the settling of the United States of America. From 1619 until July 1st 1928 slavery was allowed within our country. Slavery abolitionists attempted to end slavery, which at some point; they were successful at doing so. This paper will take the reader a lot of different directions, it will look at slavery in a legal aspect along the lines of the constitution and the thirteenth amendment, and it will also discuss how abolitionists tried to end slavery. This paper will also discuss how slaves were being taken away from their families and how their lives were affected after.