Black African American Girl Research Paper

The advent of slavery has been deeply rooted in American history for a long time. From the time African slaves were set foot in Virginia, the North American colony of Jamestown in 1619, slavery has been utilized to establish the economic foundations of the American nation. The African slaves were perceived as a cheaper source of labour in comparison to the poorer Europeans who were procured as indentured servants. Since the indentured servants were later to earn their freedom, African slaves were highly preferred for their lifetime service or till their master set them free.
To understand the life of slavery in the 17th and 18th century, this paper considers the daily activities of an American girl and that of her counterpart, a black African-American slave girl. An individual’s day-to-day operations at that time greatly depended on his/her gender, age as well social status. These factors were considered since the daily routine prepared the individual to fulfill their duties and …show more content…
Electa Marsh had a school to attend to after spreading her bed and conducting the small household chores typical to any homestead. As an incentive to learning, the free nine-year-old white girl maintained a journal. This is where she wrote her daily activities and later on read the Bible, reciting a verse or two so that the virtues and good morals are deeply instilled in her. The day’s activities might end with a little knitting of her brothers’ garments or her own, or any other small undertaking that might present itself before dusk.
On the other hand, analyzing an enslaved girl’s schedule shows a pathetic state of affairs. From dawn till dusk, an enslaved girl has no time of her own. Each and every minute is spent doing her Master’s bid, from laundry to farm-work and in some extreme cases, sexual harassment. Skills learnt by these girls were those deemed valuable by their masters and not the issue of formal schooling was unheard