Summary: European Migration To The New World

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The first portion of this video focuses and discusses European migration to the New World and the role of slavery in the New World. Many British colonists sought land where they were free from oppression so Jamestown was founded which was thought of as a free town governed by free people. The colonists realized, however, that to thrive an economic system must be formed with a labor force. Thus, an institution that would define American culture for years to come was born: slavery. Slavery’s roots can be found early through the European policy of indentured servitude. As more crops were discovered, labor was needed to help make profit of these crops so indentured servants would perform tedious labor in exchange for passage to the new world. …show more content…
After the american revolution, Americans declared that all men were equal and had the unique rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. but it was questioned if this only applied to white property owning men instead of all general nen. White men were the only who were provided opportunities in this time, even though a whopping ⅙ of the population was blacks. Slavery helped build the African trade, an important part of the atlantic slave trade. African slave trade built up other economies including transportation, and agriculture etc. the first president and general, george washington had owned slaves all his life, coming from a family who owned tobacco crops. Moving onto the concept of equality, voting policies were highly paradoxical. Only men of property had the right to vote. It was evident that every man had to know his role in society, whether he was a voter, or a slave, for example. Morals started to arise thus leading to the fight for the abolition of slavery, due to the rise of religion. However, some needed enslavement to hide their insecurities, since whites were guaranteed to never be the lowest on the social hierarchy. Slaves felt hopeless due to the never ending whippings and beatings their owners punished them with. Presbyterianism arose and led to the belief that God would free all the slaves. Like the Sons of Liberty, the blacks felt that they also were struggling a huge conflict with their liberties. The first state to abolish slavery was Massachusetts and soon surrounding northern states followed. However, even after the Revolutionary War, few blacks were actually free. Most blacks had written rights but seemed to have no actual value to

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