History

He then goes on to say that the only time he saw his mother was at night, after she walked miles to get to him.2 To brake the bond between them two, the separation was necessary between slaves. He also believed that his father might be his master because slaveholders often impregnate their female slaves. Even though he was the son of a white man, there was a lot of distaste the children take after the status of their mother and his case is a slave. Which effect was great for the master because it increased his number of slaves, and the more slaves one man owned the more money he brought in. Douglass’s slave owner, The Colonel owned around 3-4 hundred slaves on his plantation where they grew tobacco, corn and w... ... middle of paper ... ... with doing this would increase the owners number of slaves, and profits.

African Americans have faced a lot of challenges and struggles in the past, more than just what other people actually know about. They have been beaten, scorned, and embarrassed for centuries unable to do anything but what they were told. Slavery in the United States first began in Virginia, in 1619, when African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown (Slavery in America - Black History - History.com, 2009). A Dutch ship had brought 20 Africans ashore to the British colonies which lead to slavery spreading throughout the American colonies. Slavery was also practiced throughout the 17th and 18th centuries throughout the American colonies (Mason, 2006).

It was the idea of slave owners to separate them so the sense of loneliness and a lack of confidence will come over the slave. This practice is noticed in Mary Prince narrative when she describes the auctioning of herself and he siblings. She states, “I then saw my sisters led forth, and sold to different owners; so that we had not the sad satisfaction of being partners in bondage. […] When the sale was over, my mother hugged and kissed us, and mourned over us.”(4) Prince and her siblings were all young when they were sold. Today, and even to some during this time period, this practice seems absurd.

They worked also hard in trying to hide secrets that they had seen and heard and often times were regarded as second rate by the woman that they indeed worked for. Jacobs would tell her story of anguish in her Memoir “ Incidents in the life of a slave girl.” Jacobs would write down her accounts to allow the others in the northern states to see what a slave in the southern states endured, and the conflicts that they were inflicted with on a daily basis. Jacobs also tells of unhappy Newer in which she is referring to the time of year when they are sold off into families and must leave their loved ones behind. This was especially hard for the mothers that would be separated from their children, which she refers to as “ peculiar sorrows.” Harriet was deeply touched by the removal of children from their mothers and surviving family, she touched on this quite a bit in her stories of her life and what she had seen.. Jacobs touch... ... middle of paper ... ... African Americans today still have deep wounds that will heal over time when it comes to the subject of slavery. Slavery as a whole is a wound on this country's history and a contradiction of what this country is founded on.

By this time her father had died as well this caused Jacob’s to rebel against God because he had taken away her mother, father mistress, and friend. But her grandmother was always there to comfort her as best as she can. Not only was she sad but she became miserable to the treatment slaves suffered on her new plantation. Little attention was paid to slave’s meal, also if the meals were not served at an exact time on a particular Sunday she would wait till it was served and spit in the kittle pans, and the slaves could get nothing more except what she choose to give them, these were the ways of her Mrs. Flint. As for Dr. Flint he made his cook tremble because if the food was not to his liking he would have her whipped or make her eat it by cramming it down her throat till she choked.

As a struggling country, America’s south discovered slavery as a way to gain financial stability. Except, slavery grew into much more than a need for money. It became a social thing and also a controversial topic among politicians, especially with the emergence of abolitionism. Even after slavery, it became a great learning opportunity to ensure that it never happens again. A vast majority of slaves were tormented and abused by their owners and/or overseers.

Others would joint the Union Army so they could pillage their former owner’s house. On the other hand, there were blacks that wanted to have the life that their masters had and for so long they were not allowed to have because of their status as slaves. Those slaves would acquire such fine clothes and jewelry and would demand for whites to address them as Mr. or Mrs. Many blacks took to the streets to seek for lost relatives. The emancipation allowed for so many families to get back together; so many years children, spouses, parents were forced to be separated, now it was the perfect time to reunite with them.

Social complications were immense after this scandal was brought forward to the media. This situation set the stage for master-slave relations in the United States. In 1860, William Ellison, a freed slave, was South Carolinas first black slave owner. Being freed as a young man, Ellison was a strong supporter of slavery and owned more than sixty slaves. The reason for this was that owning slaves gave a great opportunity for econ... ... middle of paper ... ...heal the scars of this war.

The growth of the plantations required labor, hence African slaves were bought from Africa, to provide labor. As the Europeans set up colonies in America, they brought the plantation ideas with them, which led to the need for labor hence they tried to enslave the Native Americans to work in their mines and fields. The Native Americans were prone to diseases hence most of them died as a result of diseases and overworking. Apart from the ones who died, a number rebelled and formed alliances forcing the Europeans to look for other sources of labor. They settled on acquiring African slaves due to a number of reasons; The African slaves were more stronger and immune to a number of diseases in Europe and America, the Africans had no friends and family in America hence it was not easy for them to form alliances or to escape, they provided a permanent and a cheap source of labor, and most of them had worked on farms before in their native lands.

Others, and many of the women too, bore baskets or bales of food. Little boys and girls trudged along beside their parents, eyes wide in fear and wonder” (McCague, 14). After they were marched often hundreds of miles, it was time for them to be shipped off to sea, so that they could be sold as cheap labor to help harvest the new world. But before they were shipped off, they had to pass through a slave-trading station. The slave trade, which was first controlled by Portugal, was now controlled by other European nations.