Slavery in America started in the early 1600s when the first twenty African slaves were
brought to Virginia. These slaves were used to assist in planting, cultivating, and harvesting
crops that would otherwise be lost due to the lack of persons willing or able to do such work at
an affordable rate for the crop owners. As the population in the new world increased, the need
for slaves also increased. The sudden increase of slaves in America caused the relationship
between masters and slaves to evolve going from being treated as indentured servants to
possessions. The slaves that considered themselves lucky were treated as close family members
or friends and allowed to have freedoms, unfortunately they are thought to have been few …show more content…
“Hiring-day at the south takes place on the 1st of January. On the 2nd, the slaves are expected to
go to their new masters.” If these slaves did not want to go to their new masters they were
whipped or jailed until they agreed to go to their new masters and promised not to run away. “On
one of these sale days, I saw a mother lead seven children to the auction-block. She knew that
some of them would be taken from her; but they took all. The children were sold to a slave
trader, and their mother was bought by a man in her on town. Before night her children were all
far away. She begged the trader to tell her where he intended to take them; this he refused to do.”
(Jacobs, 17). This was a normal occurrence and there was nothing mothers or fathers of the
children could do about it. It was the slave owner’s rights to do with their slaves as they pleased.
Many parents were not even lucky enough to watch their children grow, many babies were
ripped from their mothers’ arms before they could walk or talk.
Not all masters would tear their slaves’ families apart, they would keep them together …show more content…
“Once slaveholders realized how profitable a
fertile female slave could be over time, giving birth every two and a half years to a child who
eventually could be sold, they encouraged reproduction through a variety of incentives.”(Tindall
and Shi 374.)
The relationship between masters and slaves varied greatly, depending on who the master
was and how obedient the slaves were. At best they were treated as humans that had rights, at
worst they were mentally, physically and emotionally abused with no laws in place to protect
them. The best chance many of these slaves had was to run away and pray they did not get
caught. Millions of slaves were treated this way day in and out, most from the day they were
born until the day they died. When slavery was abolished it’s said there were over four million
Africans enslaved at the time. These four million slaves were emancipated and suddenly found
themselves with a freedom they’d only dreamt of but never thought obtainable. Some of the
newly free men joined the military. Many old masters had no pity on the newly freed slaves and
left them with nowhere to go and not a penny to their name, this was the start of a new era for
Africans in
brought to Virginia. These slaves were used to assist in planting, cultivating, and harvesting
crops that would otherwise be lost due to the lack of persons willing or able to do such work at
an affordable rate for the crop owners. As the population in the new world increased, the need
for slaves also increased. The sudden increase of slaves in America caused the relationship
between masters and slaves to evolve going from being treated as indentured servants to
possessions. The slaves that considered themselves lucky were treated as close family members
or friends and allowed to have freedoms, unfortunately they are thought to have been few …show more content…
“Hiring-day at the south takes place on the 1st of January. On the 2nd, the slaves are expected to
go to their new masters.” If these slaves did not want to go to their new masters they were
whipped or jailed until they agreed to go to their new masters and promised not to run away. “On
one of these sale days, I saw a mother lead seven children to the auction-block. She knew that
some of them would be taken from her; but they took all. The children were sold to a slave
trader, and their mother was bought by a man in her on town. Before night her children were all
far away. She begged the trader to tell her where he intended to take them; this he refused to do.”
(Jacobs, 17). This was a normal occurrence and there was nothing mothers or fathers of the
children could do about it. It was the slave owner’s rights to do with their slaves as they pleased.
Many parents were not even lucky enough to watch their children grow, many babies were
ripped from their mothers’ arms before they could walk or talk.
Not all masters would tear their slaves’ families apart, they would keep them together …show more content…
“Once slaveholders realized how profitable a
fertile female slave could be over time, giving birth every two and a half years to a child who
eventually could be sold, they encouraged reproduction through a variety of incentives.”(Tindall
and Shi 374.)
The relationship between masters and slaves varied greatly, depending on who the master
was and how obedient the slaves were. At best they were treated as humans that had rights, at
worst they were mentally, physically and emotionally abused with no laws in place to protect
them. The best chance many of these slaves had was to run away and pray they did not get
caught. Millions of slaves were treated this way day in and out, most from the day they were
born until the day they died. When slavery was abolished it’s said there were over four million
Africans enslaved at the time. These four million slaves were emancipated and suddenly found
themselves with a freedom they’d only dreamt of but never thought obtainable. Some of the
newly free men joined the military. Many old masters had no pity on the newly freed slaves and
left them with nowhere to go and not a penny to their name, this was the start of a new era for
Africans in