Chattel Slavery In America

Slavery in America dates back to the founding of the America’s. Lucrative crops such as tobacco and cotton made the demand of slavery extremely prominent. The expansion of slavery boomed in the 17th and 18th centuries. These African American slaves assisted in building the economic foundations of the new world. As new tools were developed, the necessity for slave work was solidified. As stated by Foner, “Whitney’s invention revolutionized American slavery”; therefore, tools such as the cotton gin increased the slave demand in the South during the 17th century (Foner 2008, 311). America’s westward expansion, and the growing abolition movement spreading throughout the North developed tensions between the states. These tensions would ultimately …show more content…
Chattel slavery was used to ensure slaves kept in order, and completed all requests without question. Moreover, if these requests were failed to be finished, the consequences were dire. Not only did majority of African Americans during this time have to endure chattel slavery, but also they mainly had to survive through it without any family by their side. Gustavus Vassa describes the experience of being bought and sold in the slave trade as, “buyers rush[ing] at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make choice of which parcel they like best” (Ibid, 63). This portrayal written by Vassa depicts the life slaves during the time period had to live with. The constant fear of being sold and torn a part from their loved ones is shown here, “…it was very moving on this occasion to see their distress and hear their cries at parting” (Ibid). Vassa’s experienced first hand the emotional anguish numerous slaves had to bear through out their lives as African Americans; thus, showing that these personal narratives give today’s world an insight to life in the 17th and early18th …show more content…
It’s commonly known that many of these individuals had to act as slaves; the question at topic is, what was life for African Americans after the abolishment of slavery? After the civil was ended, African Americans by law were technically free; yet, the true modern day definition of freedom does not match the freedom African Americans were given. The changes that took place were extremely subtle. Although slavery had been put to cease, the ways of life society had grown accustomed to, did not. Freedom came at cost for the majority of African Americans. Laws were put in action to demand an entire race of people could not participate in government. Grandfather rules and literacy tests were established in order to prevent African Americans from voting. Additionally, towns segregated themselves from African Americans, excluding them from having rights as a United States citizen. To even further separate the races, town communities would use “racist imagery” by putting on “popular theatrical presentations like