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The Birth of Slavery
The Rebirth of Caste The Birth of Slavery The Rebirth of Caste According to Michele Alexander, even though though slavery has been abolished,there is still systematic discrimination of African Americans in United States. The Birth of Slavery As plantations in the U.S. grew, the need for free labor increased. Plantation owners were afraid to use Native Americans because they were afraid that there would be raids and a rebellion from the American Indians that would cause major losses and damages. One white property owner, Nathaniel Bacon, was upset about the way that the poor were treated and he united the slaves, indentured servants and poor whites in an attempt to overthrow the elite. After the Bacon rebellion plantation owners decided to ship in slaves from Africa instead of slaves or indentured servants from Europe because they thought that the African slaves would be less likely to form an alliance with the poor whites and the white indentured servants, which made them the safest slaves because they were less likely to rebel or cause any issues. According to Alexander the distinction in races is a “relatively recent development”. Once Europeans began to colonize other countries race became an issue because the white Europeans were coming in feeling superior to the indigenous race and taking over their land. Native Americans were turned into “savages” instead of people through negative media (books, newspapers, magazines). This was so effective because it made them less than human and made it acceptable to treat them as lesser. Keith Kilty and Eric Swank, two sociologists, observed that “eliminating ‘savages’ is less of a moral problem than eliminating human beings.” Slavery could not have existed without turning the non-white races into less than human. Native Americans and African Americans were both held down as a group because they were seen as “uncivilized...lacking in intelligence.” African Americans were seen as even more savage and unintelligent than Native Americans and that is what justified their enslavement. After America was colonized, plantations in the U.S. grew and the need for free labor increased. Plantation owners were afraid to use Native Americans because they were afraid that there would be raids and a rebellion from the American Indians that would cause major losses and damages. One white property owner, Nathaniel Bacon, was upset about the way that the poor were treated and he united the slaves, indentured servants and poor whites in an attempt to overthrow the elite. After the Bacon rebellion plantation owners decided to ship in slaves from Africa instead of slaves or indentured servants from Europe because they thought that the African slaves would be less likely to form an alliance with the poor whites and the white indentured servants because of the difference in race, which made them the safest slaves because they were less likely to rebel or cause any issues. The American Constitution was created to keep the social caste system intact and to maintain non-whites as less than people. The plantation owners and writers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that their property and livelihoods were protected which meant that they needed to keep themselves superior. In the Constitution slaves were counted as ⅗ of a person and not as a whole person, American democracy was created around making sure that slaves were dehumanized. Linder, Doug. "The Thirteenth Amendment: The Abolition of Slavery." Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Slavery in America." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Index
European Imperialism pg. 24

Bacon’s Rebellion pg. 25