African Americans Essay -- History, Slaves, Slaveholders

A slave is an individual entirely subjected to his or her owners' will. Slaves were treated like merchandise. They could be purchased and sold, traded for other items, lent out to, or mortgaged like a form of domestic animal. Slavery differentiates from many types of mistreatment ranging from serfdom, manual labor, or the ranking of women in patriarchal society. In past history the conventional definition of slavery was legal and stated that â€Å"slaves were peoples' property and could be bought, sold, traded, leased, or mortgaged like a form of livestock (Gilder Lehrman, 2009).† Because slaves are under the private control and care of their owner they were often exposed to sexual abuse and cruel unusual punishment. In many cultures, especially the African American culture, slaves were representatively desecrated; for instance, many were branded, tattooed, or required to wear distinctive clothing that could represented a slave. Also, regardless of the place and time period, s ocieties had established certain common stereotypes on the qualification of a slave. They were seen as immoral, childish, lethargic, immature, dim-witted, and incapable of freedom (Gilder Lehrman, 2009). Originally, the English colonists relied on indentured white servants and the late seventeenth century there was a shortage of servants. In response to this, colonists’ progressively resorted to enslaved Africans, leaving the whites to freedom. Due to this there were three distinguishing systems of slavery that emerged in the American civilization. In Maryland and Virginia slavery was mostly used in harvesting the raise of tobacco and corn and worked under the "gang" system (Gilder Lehrman, 2009). â€Å"In the South Carolina and Georgia, slaves raised rice and indigo... ...nt standing would facilitate him to find other avenues should the boycott fail (A&E Television Network, 1996). His powerful speeches inspired many and within a year of protesting and preaching the city busses were desegregated. In today’s society slavery still exists but not in physical labor aspects. Now the largest slavery operation is human trafficking, where by victims are generally forced, defrauded or coerced into sexual or labor utilization. It is among the fastest growing criminal activitie occurring both worldwide and in individual countries. Slavery will always be around in one form or another. People need to make money and unfortunately after all the great strides made during the period of segregation it is not enough. There is still hope that individuals like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. exist in this world and the suffering will stop.