How Did African Americans Denied Their Rights

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Slavery in the United States was very common, especially in the southern areas. Many people owned slaves like they were items or things to keep their businesses going. These slaves were mostly treated harshly, few had an exception. The slaves were denied the basic human rights and mistreated greatly by their masters and most white men. To start off, slaves were denied a great deal of the basic human rights. They were treated as items needed to get the work done, rather than the humans that they were. In “A Speech by Frederick Douglas (1850) it was mentioned that they weren't allowed to have any belongings. They were prohibited to have families; no wives, no children, no relatives. Although, some of them considered the other slaves as family. It was their very own slave network. They were allowed nothing. They got mistreated tremendously by their masters or owners. The slaves belonged to their masters and were listed in their handbooks next to the animals and props. The slaves were forced to work hard labor because they weren't paid and that made the owners richer (“Georgia Asks for Slavery”).…show more content…
Slaveholders didn't allow the slaves their rights for a few reasons. First being, was to make the slaves humble and respectful. They wanted to ensure that the slaves would be on good behavior because of fear of the whip. The whips were used many times for almost everything ( “A Speech by Frederick Douglas”). The masters wanted to destroy their slave’s "manhood" they made them seem as if they were nothing. That they aren't real men, just something necessary to get their work done. They would deprive them of what they had left- pride. Whips, chains, gags, and knifes are only a few of the things they used to hurt the slaves. The slaves were absolutely nothing in the slaveowners' eyes. The masters believed they held a right to take away the slaves' rights, but they

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