How did Slavery Affect America United States Essay Example

the plantation owner "saved" his money to invest in more land, which of course required more slaves to continue to yield a larger profit.An economic cycle was created between plantation owner and slave, one that would take generations to end. Slaves were now a necessity on the larger plantations to work the fields.

They were pieces of property that quickly transformed into required elements of plantation machinery. African slaves were regarded as a large, dependable, and permanent source of 'cheap labor' because slaves rarely ran away and when caught they were severely punished. The creation of the plantation system of farming were essential factors in maintaining the idea of slavery. Ironically, the New World was created to find political and religious freedom and escape oppression.

The ideas of personal worth and individualism. How strange then for such a society that encouraged and promoted such beliefs would contradict itself by excluding the African slaves who were not considered equal to whites. They were considered the lowest of the low on the social ladder. The colonial society believed in providing the necessary means for personal growth and development, and yet limited and controlled the lives of slaves. Personal development and growth was not an option for slaves.

They were unable to attain any personal wealth or economic growth, which left them "dehumanized" and limited in life they could lead. They were given no means to better themselves, and this was done so that the slaves had to remain dependent upon the slave owners for their survival. Perhaps the most profound factor, and the one most difficult to discuss in slavery, is racism. The ideas of slavery or indentured servant had

all been around before the colonies were established; so, why was it so different in the Americas? The belief in white superiority and black inferiority was imposed upon the African slaves.With very few exceptions, all slaves were African and brought to America for the sole purpose of free labor and thereby all people with dark or black skin were labeled something less than human in comparison to the white population. In America, Africans were put "out of bounds" of regular society because their place was racially defined and therefore, incurable.

Slave owners believed that there were five steps in the character molding of a slave:

1) strict discipline,

2) a sense of self-inferiority,

3) a belief in master's superiority,

4) an acceptance master's ideals,

5) a deep sense of their own dependency and hopelessness.

Most of the time, the slaves were exploited for the accumulation of the wealth of the whites. The Africans could escape slavery, but not their race and if ever caught they would be punished harshly. The urbanization and industrialization of early America became another underlying factor in the economics of slavery. Initially, Southern slave owners thought that the slaves were "too stupid" to understand the machinery, so they would not work well in urban areas.

They were also believed to be "too careless" to use complex tools in the factories. As a result of this thinking, it impeded the growth of industrialization in the South and maintained the chains of slavery. Slaves were an economic positive but a social negative in history. They helped the economics of the country thrive and grow, but it was also a insult of a race.

Africans also had a history that they should have

been proud to have. Instead, they were denied their heritage and were made to be ashamed of the people that they were. The development of slavery was the white slave owners' way to maintain control of the growing population of Africans, socially and industrially.If the slaves were confined to the fields of the plantations for supervision, the whites would remain dominant race and maintain their theory of "white supremacy. " It also freed the slave owners from the worries of labor strikes and unemployment.

It proved to be a strong economic advantage. One could state that the increasing economic growth of early America was due to the slave's labor. One could also state that the growth was due to the investments of the land and crops by the white slaveholders. Either way it is stated, it is true, slavery had a huge impact on the growth of a new and emerging nation, but it was also the abuse of a race.