African American History (African slaves)

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African American History (African slaves)

Driven out of their native land, the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. During this time the slaves were sold to work on land that European immigrants were colonizing on the North America Coast. During this period, millions of black slaves were dreadfully treated. The transatlantic slave trade sustained until the mid 1800s, when slavery was finally prohibited. As more blacks came to America, colonies instituted the “black code” that was meant to control and monitor the population of African Americans. As explored by Ayers, Gould, Soderlund & Oshinsky, the whites feared that if the population of blacks grew to large numbers as compared to the population of whites, then they were able to fight them (83).

The black code that had been implemented in many states indicated that a master could not release his slave under any circumstance. The blacks were forbidden from marrying from another race and were also not permitted to marry legally from their own race (Ayers et al 83). According to the whites, this was a form of controlling the increase in population of blacks which was already growing tremendously. The laws that were put in place by the whites to govern slavery were both harsh and discriminatory. Being a slave meant that the master owned the slave together with the family. The master had a right to decide whether the parents stayed with the children or whether they were sold as slaves to another master. This excess power that was exercised by the whites instilled fear in the blacks against having more children with the fear that they would either be killed or sold as slaves.

During the slavery period, both men and women were given chores. The men became drivers and others worked in pl.............