American Colonial History: Slavery as a Popular Prospect

American Colonial History
Student
Tutor
Course
Date
American Colonial History
The colonial period was a significant time that changed the socio-political trajectory of the US. As America sought its socioeconomic and political freedom, it also fostered advancing its growth through the industrial revolution. Slavery was among the most popular prospects during the American colonial era. For years, slaves were treated as commodities to fuel the industrial revolution. To the colonies, slaves only needed food and clothes to ready them for their roles. While slavery was a significant factor in colonial America and its spread has been discussed in literature widely, the prevalence of slavery through different colonies has been explored only mildly. In this research, the focus is put on assessing American colonial history with an emphasis on Virginia and Georgia. Virginia and Georgia are different in the sense that Virginia was the first colony while Georgia was the last colony. Both colonies experienced slavery extensively. However, it is not known how much had changed between the time when Virginia was founded in 1607 and when Georgia was founded in 1732. Within that period, so much would have occurred to affect the lives of the slaves. Some of the questions that the paper will be exploring include understanding whether slavery looked different right from when it was adopted in Virginia to when it was accommodated in Georgia or whether the lives of slaves showcased some differences from their treatment in Virginia to how they were treated in Georgia. Assessing the above aspects of colonial history should be vital in further exploration of slavery, how it transformed, and why it remains a significant historical factor in America.
Background
The history of the colony in North America is shaped by slavery. The colonies treated enslaved people (men, women, and children) as commercial goods for more than 150 years. People are treated harshly in the logic of enslavement as inputs to produce outputs. Only food and clothing were given to slaves as inputs for their labor to be produced by the colonists. In American history, slavery first appeared before the 17th century, in 1619, following the entrance of Africans who had been taken as indentured servants or, more specifically, taken as slaves by the colonists for a set period before being freed. In a nutshell, slavery was a type of labor system that influenced colonial society and thought in every way. After Massachusetts and the North made slavery legal in 1641, slavery spread there. Following legalization, slave codes were created and put into effect. The Codes set out rules for slavery and portrayed slaves as property rather than as living beings. In the colonies, this behavior sparked resentment and uprisings. A rise in hostility between slave owners and their charges led to bloody slave uprisings throughout the colonies.[Brown William. 1848. Fugitive Slave. Boston: Antislavery Office.] [Sabin, Joseph. 1877. Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America. Nassau Street: Sabin and Sons]
The created codes in the North American colony enshrined slaves as the property of their owners, denying them any rights. Captured people from Africa were sold as slaves...