Roots Of Slavery In America

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Ever since the first permanent settlement in North America, the seeds of the slavery system had been planted. Slavery was practiced from the 17th Century to about the mid-19th Century and helped turn the new nation of the United States to a global economic powerhouse. The system of slavery implemented harsh rules and punishments that restricted slave’s behavior and movement. The idea of abolition had been around since the start of slavery but when the idea started to gain support, it sparked a great debate that would rip the country apart. The system of slavery laid the foundation and built the United States from the ground up, but once planted in America the system grew deep roots of hate and prejudice that have lasted to this day. Slavery in America…show more content…
As colonies began to pop up in the New World there was a need for extra labor. As punishment for warfare or rebellion against a colony natives were captured into slavery and forced to work. This form of slavery proved to be ineffective due to the facts that natives were prone to European diseases, that they’ve never encountered and had no immunity for, and that the natives knew the land better than settlers, allowing them to easily run away. Colonists now had to find other options for the necessary extra labor force. The extra labor source was only necessary because tobacco, the New World’s main cash crop, was labor-intensive and whites were inapt for this work since they were not acclimated to the weather conditions and simply refused to do
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