US History: Origins of Slavery

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U.S. History
Topic 2: What were the origins of slavery in the American colonies and what was the reason for slavery's establishment? Was this appalling institution uniquely American? Explain
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade had been going on as early as the 16th century, spearheaded by the Portuguese slave merchants (Elliott and Hughes par.1). The Portuguese had immensely benefited from the split of the world by the Roman Catholics in the 15th century, granting them the autonomy to run the trade on the west side of the African continent. It was not until the 17th century, 1619 to be precise, that the first batch of slaves from Africa was handed to the British Colonies in Virginia (Elliott and Hughes par.1). The 20 African slaves were aboard the Portuguese slave ship, Sao Joao Bautista, and it marked the formalization of the slave trade in America, British colonies establishing companies such as the Royal African Slave Company thereafter (Iddings par.7).
Slave trade before the transatlantic slave trade was mainly for free and forced labor. This was adopted by the English colonies who had occupied the United States, and the slaves who were regarded as commodities of trade were to provide free labor in sugarcane plantations before cotton took over American agriculture (Elliott and Hughes). The English colonies in America also established slave trading as an element of strong political powers with some of the early pioneers of the slave trade in America later occupying the most influential positions in the 18th century (Elliott and Hughes par. 8). Slave trade before the transatlantic slave trade of the 17th ad 18th centuries cut across all races. However, the American colonies introduced the aspect of race and commercialized the slave trade even further, leading to the formation of slave trading companies. Africans were the most unfortunate victims of the institutionalization of the slave trade. Besides institutionalization, the American slave trade took a twist for the worse, with an absolute disregard of slaves as human beings but rather commodities of trade, thus making the American slave trade uniquely bad (Hymowitz par.3).
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1:Slave Auction, Rotunda 1842. (Silverman)
Topic 4: What qualities did George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson share in common that made them such effective leaders of the new nation? What were some differences that distinguished them from each other? Why are they so revered to this day, and likewise, what are some historical criticisms of them?
The American patriots of the c...