The late 1600’s was a very hard time if you were not rich and white. The rich southerners had, it seems, control over the wealth and people. They would soon lose control of some slaves, but would regain the control through unrighteous laws known as the Virginia Laws. The Virginia Laws were created in an attempt to not only profit even more from the slaves but to curb rebellion. The laws however, do give insight to the success of rebellious slaves due to the fact that the rich southerners felt the need to establish these laws. The reason there was a cause for concern among the rich southerners was that they main way of making money was off slave labor on their plantations. If there were no slaves then there would be little profit, if any at The first Law that stands out in showing that Slave Masters sought more profit was that of the law in 1662. In the handout set "Virginia Servant and Slave Laws" has the bases of all five laws that were implemented. The first law to be looked at that would be an insight to the greed of the rich southerners would be that of the law that makes slave status inherited from the mother which is created in 1662. "...That all children borne in this country shalbe held bond[slave] only according to the condition of the mother" (Virginia Servant and Slave Laws). By having this law created, they could then gain even more workers for their plantations by forcing the children born of a slave mother into The first law to look at is the law of 1672 which allows force to be used in suppressing rebellious Slaves, Indians, and Servants. " ...it shall and may be lawful for any person who shall endeavour to take them, upon the resisting.. and if it happen that such negroe, molatto, Indian slave, or servant for life doe dye of any wound in such their resistance... the master or owner of such shall receive satisfaction from the publique for [value of the slave]" ( Virginia Servant and Slave Laws). This shows that by having to enact this law, that there must have been some incidents that would lead the southerners in believing there would be rebellions or
By the 18th century, Pennsylvania was becoming home for American Development. Many people that were drawn to Pennsylvania were servants whether, for sometimes 4 years or however long, it took to pay off debt for their travel across the Atlantic. If they weren’t servant, they were slaves who almost had no chance of freedom. Servants had a chance to become free after paying off their debts with work, but not the same for slaves.
The Virginians became greedier for land and started to grow tobacco all over Jamestown. This encouraged the wide use of plantations that required surplus labor. Seven years later, in 1619, a Dutch warship sold the Virginians African slaves, creating the seed of slave trade. Thus the use of indentured slaves decreased and was replaced with African slaves as triangular trade (trans-Atlantic slave trade) increased.
Self-interest can be seen in many of the writings throughout American history. The mercantile system, as exhibited by the British on the colonies, was an extremely hedonistic approach to gaining wealth for themselves. Mercantilism, as set forth by the Navigation Acts, imposed strict and extremely descriptive laws that would limit and exploit trade in the colonies, allowing Britain to control the wealth and profit of materials and goods in America. These acts were used to keep America from trading with any other countries. As stated in the Navigation Act of 1660, "no goods or commodities whatsoever shall be imported into or exported out of any lands" to his Majesty belonging"in any other ship or ships...as do truly and without fraud belong only to the people of England or Ireland" (Restoration 98). Britain knew that by controlling the colonies in this manner they could take the raw materials out and sell the finished products back, and by doing so they would profit greatly. This mercantile system exemplifies the arrogant minds of the British while America was developing. This system would soon become a failure due to the people's demands to have representation along with taxation, and their desire to separate from England as a free and independent state. Likewise, it was due to self-interest of the greedy planters and the self righteous farmers in the south that slavery was highly used. At that time they needed all the labor they could get, and the cheapest way to obtain it was through the purchase of slaves. Some of the slavery was downplayed by calling it indentured servitude, where servants were essentially slaves for a limited number of years.
Between 1800 and 1860 slavery in the American South had become a ‘peculiar institution’ during these times. Although it may have seemed that the worst was over when it came to slavery, it had just begun. The time gap within 1800 and 1860 had slavery at an all time high from what it looks like. As soon as the cotton production had become a long staple trade source it gave more reason for slavery to exist. Varieties of slavery were instituted as well, especially once international slave trading was banned in America after 1808, they had to think of a way to keep it going – which they did. Nonetheless, slavery in the American South had never declined; it may have just come to a halt for a long while, but during this time between 1800 and 1860, it shows it could have been at an all time high.
The southern economy was largely dependent on slaves, who worked on the numerous plantations of the South. Moreover, the main purpose of slavery in the South was for the cultivation of these cotton plantations. (Doc 4) For this reason, southerners believed
Southerners believed that if outnumbered to free states in Congress, laws would be passed to abolish slavery in the South, thus causing economic downfall in the South.
Poor Southerners also supported the "peculiar institution", because it ensured that even the poorest white man was higher than a black man was. This was why Southerners said it preserved social order. Slavery, essentially, gave poor whites someone to look down upon and mock. To an agrarian society the preservation of a rigid class system is of primary concern, unfortunately, this was the only way the South could preserve it was through slavery.
There were many economic reasons for the increase of slavery in the plantations in the South. The populations of slavery in the plantations were because the colonists depended on there Indentured Servants. The Indentured Servants were people who agreed to a contract which was to work in the southern colony. This contract lasted up for 4-7 years of hard work labor. This was as long as the servants paid for their journey. After the 4-7 years of labor there were free. The servants did slave labor but they were not slaves. The indentured servants and slaves both had some things in common. One they both worked on cash crops. Also they both worked hard and they were not paid for doing their labor.
The motives of the founders of the colonies in each region played a significant part in the regions development. Sir Walter Raleigh and the Virginia Company, a joint-stock company, were among the first to try to develop settlements in the New World. Their motive to establish Roanoke and Jamestown in the Chesapeake region was primarily to make money. Thus the constant reminder that their first goal was to make profits influenced the settlers of Virginia. However, this conviction for making profits almost was the collapse of the colony for its settlers were more interested in finding gold then building shelter and growing food, finally found its outlet in the cash crop, tobacco, which John Rolfe perfected. Virginians were already greedy and self-centered. They were more concerned about personal gain than equality, and so the different levels of society appeared. Life centered on plantations, and so the rich planters were most important. Their constant need for labor source led to the introduction of land grants and indentured servants through the head-right system. In addition, the Carolinas, proprietary colonies created by Lord Berekley et al, was established strictly to profit the proprietor which they eventually did due also to cash crops.
The first arrivals of Africans in America were treated similarly to the indentured servants in Europe. Black servants were treated differently from the white servants and by 1740 the slavery system in colonial America was fully developed.
At the one of the earliest points in American history, the roots of slavery began to take hold in Jamestown, Virginia in the year 1619 (“Slavery in America”). The reasoning behind owning slaves was selfish, and simple; slavery provided cheap, dispensable laborers that could survive tremendous amounts of abuse, and needed very little to survive. Before the use of slaves, Europeans relied heavily on indentured servants, individuals who owed a debt and thus traveled to the new world to work off the debt for a certain number of years until they would be freed. This left wealthy individuals who held the servants in a constant struggle of bringing in more workers, but slavery provided a remedy for this issue. For decades, slavery spread and grew throughout the...
Constitutionally the North favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution, and they wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states themselves. The South relied upon slave labor for their economic well being, and the economy of the North was not reliant on such labor or in need of this type of service. This main issue overshadowed all others. Southerners compared slavery to the wage-slave system of the North, and believed their slaves received better care than the northern factory workers received from their employers. Many Southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. Southern leaders had constantly tried to seek new areas into which slavery might be extended (Oates 349).
Throughout this course we learned about slavery and it's effects on our country and on African Americans. Slavery and racism is prevalent throughout the Americas before during and after Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Some people say that Jefferson did not really help stop any of the slavery in the United States. I feel very differently and I will explain why throughout this essay. Throughout this essay I will be explaining how views of race were changed in the United States after the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, and how the events of the Jeffersonian Era set the stage for race relations for the nineteenth century.
The slave uprisings that were successful helped prove some reasons for why the slaves rebelled in the first place. The most common explanation for slave rebellions between mid 1700s to late 1800s was the slave’s owner treatment towards the slaves. The way the owners of these slaves treated them was inhumane and wrong on many levels. In a passage written about slave life, the author spoke about the conditions the slaves had to endure on a daily basis. “Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown six days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat.” This type of surrounding was one of the major explanations for why slaves revolted. Slaves were whipped, tortured, and/or killed if they did something wrong. The owners were “paid to get the most work ...
...ve in Virginia did not mean immigrants were free from its rule. Upon departing England, those leaving would take an “oath of allegiance and supremacy” (Virginia Ship’s List). This meant that the people owed their loyalty to the monarch of England, not to Virginia itself. The colonists of Virginia could have been frustrated that their head official was chosen by a single person, a person who had no place within their community. In fact, Berkeley, the governor the monarch of England elected, “brought high taxes on the people, increased his power at the expense of local officials and created a monopoly on Indian trade” (Divine, 85). This abuse of power is possibly one of the causes of rebellions, specifically Bacon’s rebellion. This republic government leading the Virginia Colony was an increasingly stark contrast to the Massachusetts’ Colony’s democratic government.