The first Africans to touch the American soil by virtue of slave trade arrived in Jamestown in the state of Virginia in 1619. They were twenty Africans who became slave servants in a time when Americans practices hereditary servitude that is permanent enslavement to the master, including the offspring of slave become automatic slaves to the master. However, by 1640s, the life or hereditary servitude status was abolished in the state of Virginia; hence, the slaves gained freedom. The nature of slavery significantly changed in the years 1640 to 1660 as slaves gained more legal recognition than it was in 1619 ( Andrews, 2015) . With the increasing demand for agricultural commodities like tobacco by the European countries, the American appetite for more slave workers in the plantation rose. More slaves were brought into America to provide labor for large scale plantation farming. By 1690, most of the American slave s had been shipped straight from West Africa.
Within the slave population in the 1690s, there existed Native American slaves, Indian slaves, and African slaves. The Native American slaves in colonial America were common in the state of Carolina and included the poor natives. The number of Indian slaves grew lesser to that of the African slaves, and by 1700, the population of American slaves was dominated by the Black Africans mostly shipped from West Africa (Neff, 2016). Legalization of slavery was introduced in Georgia in the 1750s, causing new black bondage in all the thirteen American colonies. The southern colonies had a good climate and soil, which was suitable for agriculture. Thus, crops like rice, tobacco, and indigo were cultivated on a large scale in the southern colonies than in the northern colonies. Some European Immigrants served indentures in colonial America who also required slave labor in their pursuits. Most of the European Immigrants served eleven-year indentures in the American soil in both the Northern and southern colonies and were mostly served by African slaves.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
It is the age between colonial America through the Civil war when the population of African slaves considerable rose. Statistics indicate that the state of Virginia had the highest number of the African slave population. The state of Maryland was the second in the hierarchy of while the state of Carolina that comprised of both North and South Carolina before the subdivision in 1701 had sixty percent of its population as black slaves ( Shi & Tindall, 2016) . With the high population of the slaves living in a foreign land, their home culture started being manifested in the slaves' lifestyle. The Native Americans and the masters adopted a lifestyle that seemed superior to the slave's life. The Native Americans and the masters prevented the African slaves from acquiring any knowledge hence did not allow them to learn how to read and write. According to the Americans, illiteracy was a tool for keeping the African slaves under their control as intellectual stimulation would lead to seeking freedom and independence.
The lack of freedom state of the African slaves led to the practice of the African culture among the slaves. Most slaves unwillingly had to forsake their true African nature to be Anglo American servants. The slaves were not allowed to practice their African culture or anything related to their heritage ( Andrews, 2015) . However, silently, the African language and heritage kept the slaves alive in a foreign land. A typical slave's day involved very long working hours of manual physical labor. For slaves working as field hand men, a day would begin at dawn and end after dusk. Slaves would have an hour or two break allowance for meals in a day. The longer working hours were a strategy to control the slaves from remembering their origin and having time to share their past and culture. However, due to their lack of freedom, the slaves silently passed their culture and heritage to their offspring's leading to the rise of a lifestyle that is anchored on the West African lifestyle among the slave's community.
Engaging in Labor-Intensive Manual Activities
West Africans engaged in labor-intensive manual activities for their livelihood. Generally, most West Africans practiced agriculture and depended on crops of the field for their food. It was a tradition to use manual labor for crop production for both subsistence use or for exchange. The slave traders were aware of the fact that the slaves were used to handling manual work for longer hours. When taken to the American soil, the slaves were subjected to manual work in the plantations to produce agricultural commodities for sale to the Europe market. Some of the slaves taken to the northern colonies were subjected to manual work in nonagricultural pursuits like domestic work, maritime, boat building, and mining (Neff, 2016). At the end of the day's work, the slaves would retire to their slave quarters, which were separate from the master's quarters. It then became part of the African American slave life to participate in labor-intensive manual jobs that the Native Americans and the masters could not handle.
The ability to handle tough manual and labor-intensive jobs is one aspect of the West African culture that has manifested itself in the lives of the African American people both enslaved and the free. Due to their ability to endure tough situations, African American were the main people behind the plenty in agricultural production in the southern colonies and mining in the northern colonies. It is estimated that after the civil war, over 186,000 African Americans took part in the Union Army ( Shi & Tindall, 2016) . The African American troops significantly contributed to the success of the Union Army despite there being high levels of discrimination and being poorly equipped. The African Americans endured hostile war conditions and were relentless due to their ability to perform tough manual tasks for longer hours. The confederacy found itself in an awkward situation when most of the African American troops dropped a line and joined the Union troops. To date, most of the African American is America is associated with handling manual jobs as well as assisting in the military operations.
Believing in a Supernatural Being
Africans had a belief in the existence of a supernatural being who controls the cosmic balance and offers interventions to those who call upon him. This is the belief in a God that is also the controller of people's life. The African American slaves believed and had hope of solace from their God during their most difficult times. The traditional belief practices were not practiced since the masters prohibited the performance of any traditional rituals or heritage practices, but it was spoken and passed from one generation to another (Wiecek, 2018). The African Americans in the northern colonies were the first to enjoin a group of Native Americans-the Quakers who had a similar belief in God and practiced moral precepts. By the colonial period, the African Americans through the acculturative processed created what seems to be like non-African organizations in character but possess the West African traditions in them. One of the most prevalent institutions they had formed was the church.
With the influence of the Great Awakening experienced between the years 1740 and 1790, there was a great spiritual revitalization among the African Americans and influenced by their African tradition of belief to a God, a large number of Africans became Christians. In 1756 a very large African American Baptist congregations were noted in Lunenberg in the state of Virginia. In 1773, another large African American congregation was noted in Silver Bluff in the state of South Carolina (Wiecek, 2018). In 1779, the African American Christian family in Williamsburg in the state of Virginia convened the largest Baptist congregation. Other than being followers of the Baptist mission, some African Americans took part in being missionaries. David George was among the first Black missionaries who after the Savanna recapture in 1782 went to start the first church in Scotia (Neff, 2016). David George revitalized the African American sense of belief in God, and after ten years in the Scotia, the African American missionary went back to West Africa in the state of Sera Leone to start another church.
Another African American missionary who also played a great role in the spread of the word of God to his fellow African Americans is George Leile. After the Savanna evacuation, George Leile went to Jamaica and established the first Baptist church in Jamaica, a land that was inhabited by African American freed slaves ( Andrews, 2015) . George's mission was supported by another African America named Andrew Bryan, who had established the First African Baptist Church in 1788. Another African American named Harry Hosier and nicknamed "The Black Harry" accompanied an English missionary Francis Asbury and took part in spreading the Methodism in the American colonies. The belief in God aspect of the African culture got deep-rooted in the African American as both freed and enslaved African Americans sought solace and hope from God.
Two Events between 1619‒1860 that Sought for Slaves Freedom
The Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner was an African American slave preacher who led slaves apprising in 1831. The apprising was the worst in American history since over 60 whites were killed in two days in Southampton in the state of Virginia (Wiecek, 2018). It is was the local and state militia that overwhelmed Nat Turner's troop of 75 African Americans leading to the handing of Nat Turner.
The Rationale for Selecting the Event
Before the year 1831, there had been many discussions at the Congress and state level to abolish the slave trade (Neff, 2016). In fact, Congress had abolished slave importation in 1808, while the Missouri Compromise agreement had put a bun on slavery around the borders of Missouri. Virginia State required similar reactions since the slave laws had been tightened due to the Gabriel Prosser rebel attempt in 1800.
How the Event Showcases the Ability to Seek Justice
At independence, the U.S. Constitution declared equality to all Americans. It was Ibrahim Lincolns dream to have all people of America enjoy equal freedom, but the slaves in Virginia were subjected to strict rules leading to the revolt in seeking their rights.
The Harpers Ferry Raid
The Harpers Ferry raid was led by John Brown an abolitionist in 1859. The gang wanted to raid the federal armory located in West Virginia ( Shi & Tindall, 2016). On the night of 16th October, john browns team had taken control of the armory but were defeated by the U.S. marine.
The Rationale for Selecting the Event
The event took place to precipitate the onset of the American Civil War. The freed slaves in Virginia and Maryland wanted to independence and to establish their stronghold. The thought of African American freedom had moral and financial support from many Bostonians.
How the Event Showcases the Ability to Seek Justice
The freed slaves lived under very strict laws in Virginia as a result of the Gabriel Prosser rebel attempt in 1800 and the Nat Turner Rebellion. The freed slaves were thirsty for real freedom as enshrined in the constitution and by revolting against the federal armory.
Reference
Andrews, J. C. (2015). South Reports the Civil War (Vol. 1278). Princeton University Press.
Neff, J. R. (2016). Honoring the Civil War dead: Commemoration and the problem of reconciliation . Kansas: University Press of Kansas, p. 87-112..
Shi, D. E., & Tindall, G. B. (2016). America: A narrative history . London: WW Norton & Company, p. 12-17.
Wiecek, W. M. (2018). The Sources of Anti-Slavery Constitutionalism in America, 1760-1848 . US: Cornell University Press, P.22-26
