The Transatlantic Slave Trade That Played a Major Role in the History of Slavery in America

A slave is a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another. Slavery can be defined as the condition of a slave; the keeping of slaves as a practice or institution; a state of subjection. Racism can be defined as a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, involving the idea that one’s own race is superior. These terms play major roles in the history of the United States.

Slavery played a central role in the history of the United States. It existed in all the English mainland colonies and came to dominate agricultural production in the states from Maryland south. Eight of the first 12 presidents of the United States were slaveowners. Debate over slavery increasingly dominated American politics, leading eventually to the American Civil War, which finally brought slavery to an end.

The first African slaves in North America landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Brought by early English privateers, they were subjected to limited servitude, a legalized status of Native American, white, and black servants preceding slavery in most, if not all, the English colonies in the New World.

Racism comes into effect when one asks themselves why Africans? English had guns and power while African did not. African were different and thus were thought to be inferior, racially set apart, outsiders, aliens, and strangers in many ways throughout the world. A major factor of why English enslaved Africans was their religion. Africans had their own religions passed on from generation to generation, which was not Christianity. Basically, English enslaved non-Christians. A slave could become free by converting to Christianity. Between 1650-1750 American slavery began to change from Indians to Africans and eventually led to the extinction of Indians in slavery.

The transatlantic Slave Trade played a major role in the history of slavery in America. It forced transportation of at least ten million Africans to destinations in Europe and America during the 15th through 19th centuries. Africans were taken from their homes, herded onto ships where they were sometimes so tightly packed that they could barely move, and sent to a strange new land. When traded, the slaves were examined from head to toe. Most ended up on plantations growing crops and tobacco. Africa lost much of its population.

An extensive body of law developed from the 1660’s to the 1860’s governed slavery in the United States. Every slave state had its own slave code and body of court decisions. Slavery was a permanent condition, inherited through the mother, and defined slaves as property, usually in the same terms as those applied to real estate. Slaves, being property, could not own property or be a party to a contract. Since marriage is a form of a contract, no slave marriage had any legal standing. All codes also had sections regulating free blacks, who were still subject to controls on their movements and employment and were often required to leave the state after emancipation.

American slavery was set apart from other societies of slavery due to its racial basis. In America, with only a few early and insignificant exceptions, all slaves were Africans, and vice versa. This pointed Africans out to be aliens and inferior to all others. In other societies, it had been possible for a slave who obtained his freedom to take his place in his society with relative ease. In America however, when a slave became free, he was still obviously an African. The taint of inferiority clung to him. Not only did white America become convinced of white superiority and black inferiority, but it strove to impose these racial beliefs on the Africans themselves.

Slave masters gave a great deal of attention to the education and training of the ideal slave. There were five steps in molding the character of a slave: strict discipline, a sense of his own inferiority, belief in the master’s supremacy, acceptance of the master’s standards, and finally a deep sense of his own helplessness and dependence. Besides teaching a slave to despise his own history and culture, the master strove to inculcate his own value system into the African’s outlook. The white man’s belief in the African’s inferiority paralleled African self-hate.

• 1641 Massachusetts legalized slavery.
• 1662 Virginia passes a law stating Africans would remain Servants for life.
• 1663 Maryland passes law stipulating that all imported blacks are to be given the status of slaves.