The Slave Trade in Colonial America

The Slave Trade in Colonial America

The first blacks in the American Colonies were brought in, like many

lower-class whites, as indentured servants. Most indentured servants

had a contract to work without wages for a master for four to seven

years, after which they became free. Blacks brought in as slaves,

however, had no right to eventual freedom. The first black indentured

servants arrived in Jamestown in the colony of Virginia in 1619. They

had been captured in Africa and were sold at auction in Jamestown.

After completing their service, some black indentured servants bought

property. But racial prejudice among white colonists forced most free

blacks to remain in the lowest level of colonial society.

The first black African slaves in the American Colonies also arrived

during the early 1600's. The slave population increased rapidly during

the 1700's as newly established colonies in the South created a great

demand for plantation workers. By 1750, about 200,000 slaves lived in

the colonies. The majority lived in the South, where the warm climate

and fertile soil encouraged the development of plantations that grew

rice, tobacco, sugar cane, and later cotton. Most plantation slaves

worked in the fields. The others were craft workers, messengers, and

servants.

Only 12 percent of slave owners operated plantations that had 20 or

more slaves. But more than half of all the country's slaves worked on

these plantations. Most of the other slave owners had small farms and

only a few slaves each. Under arrangements with their masters, some

slaves could hire themselves out to work for other whites on farms or

in city jobs. Such arrangemen...

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...l rights in the

United States. His efforts spurred the passage of the Civil Rights Act

of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His energetic personality

and persuasive oratory helped unite many blacks in a search for

peaceful solutions to racial oppression. Although blacks that had lost

faith in nonviolence challenged King's views, his belief in the power

of nonviolent protest remained strong. His writings include 'Stride

Toward Freedom: the Montgomery Story' (1958); 'Strength to Love'

(1963); 'Why We Can't Wait' (1964); and 'Where Do We Go from Here:

Chaos or Community?' (1967).

In 1977 King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of

Freedom for his battle against prejudice. In 1986 the United States

Congress established a national holiday in King's honor to be observed

on the third Monday in January.