Abuse Of Slavery In America

Slavery in America took place in the 17th century. It was a system that allowed individuals to own, purchase, or auction off other individuals. Because slave-owners considered their slaves as either properties or animals instead of human-beings, slaves were treated like animals. Slave-owners inflicted both physical and mental abuse to their slaves. For example, slave-owners committed cruel acts such as flogging their slaves and even killing them. Additionally, slave-owners viewed themselves as a superior race and believed that they had the right to reign over slaves because they were “white”. Through this belief, slave-owners were able to justify their treatment towards slaves. Furthermore, the concept of slavery had created a society …show more content…
This was exemplified through George, a slave of Mr. Harris from a novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriot Beecher Stowe. George was an unfortunate slave who strived to escape from his cruel and petty master. Although he was able to successfully escape, his past soon caught up to him. Instead of acknowledging his fate as a slave, he stated how he would rather fight for his freedom than being sent “...back to be whipped and tortured, and ground down under the heels of …” those that they called masters (Stowe 204). This example demonstrated the harsh methods slave-owners used to control their slaves. Instead of using words to control their slaves, they resorted to violence. Evidently, this statement also displayed how because there were no laws limiting the slave-owners’ behaviors, slave-owners were able to freely inflict every credible kind of torture to their slaves. With these acts of brutality, it is evident that there were dehumanizing effects of slavery to slave-owners. Furthermore, according to a narrative written by Frederick Douglass, he stated that he received “…very severe whipping, cutting [his] back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as [his] little finger.” (Douglass, 51). This statement represented various types of physical abuse Frederick Douglass received from his master. Because Douglas …show more content…
During the era of slavery, there was a law “Under the law, slaves were property… Slaves could be sold or leased by their owners…” (Foner 418). In this quote, the law stated that although slaves were human beings, they were still considered as properties. This shows that the people who believed slavery was legitimate were moral defect. They did not treat slaves as human being; hence, the law “Under the law, slaves were property… Slaves could be sold or leased by their owners…” This quote also validates the perspectives of slave-owners. Instead of treating slaves as equals, slave-owners are treating them as animals that could either be sold or bought. In a way, it can be assumed that slave-owners were building a society where it was essentially based on domination and submission. Furthermore, “…at once established and defined the nature of the relationship between the master and his newly acquired slave.” (McLaurin 23). According to the autobiography, the day Celia was bought, Newson raped her. This was an act that defined the relationship between Newson and Celia, where Newson was the master and Celia was the slave. Not only does this quote explains Newson’s behavior, but it also exhibits the dehumanizing effect of slavery on the slave-owners. In a way, most slave-owners like Newson believe that in order to establish or define their status towards the slaves, they would need