Slavery in America

The first small group of slaves in America came to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Because plantations had grown up around tobacco fields, landowners began to purchase more slaves to work their land. As other crops also became profitable, the slave system became entrenched in the colonies. By the time of the American Revolution, slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies. Some became house servants or craftsmen, but most were field hands.

After the revolution, Americans realized a lack of supplies had handicapped them during the war, and, since they no longer needed to look to Great Britain to produce them, the Northern colonies started industrializing. They'd never seen the same necessity for slavery as the South felt, and some began to think about forbidding the practice in their state. Many of the Northern shippers still made their money from the slave trade, however.

Conditions aboard a slave ship were often horrendous. Knowing that many wouldn't make it, they were packed in like sardines to increase profits. Shackled and with limited movement in the stuffy holds and no facilities, they lived among the filth and stench. Those who lost the meager contents of their stomach or the food didn't agree with their bowels added to the problem.

Charleston slave market

Once they arrived, they were taken to slave markets where they were auctioned off like cattle. Most of the cities had them, and a new, very different life began almost immediately. Their fate rested totally with the master who bought them. Slave quarters were always minimal, and the amount and quality of food varied.

We often think more of the large slave owners when we think of slavery, but most slave owners had less than five. As time progressed, it became illegal to bring more slaves into the country, and breeding the slaves became more important. Eventually, the differences in how citizens viewed slavery would lead to war.

Slave quarters at Boone Hall Plantation

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