Slavery is a part of American history. Slavery is a form of dependence on the master. Slavery was physical and mental. Slaves were not people; they factually were things, objects in the hands of their masters. The slaves were black people, and the masters were commonly white. Slavery was a widespread form in America till the middle of the XVII century.
History knows a lot of examples of when black slaves were made to cone into sexual relations with their white masters. As the results of these relations were children. The enslaved son of Thomas Jefferson, Madison Hemings (1877) in his interview in 1873 told the story of his life. The examples of such relations were numerous. The mentioned interview gives us the example of a responsible white father who did not leave his son in the slave group.
The destinies of children who were born from slave mothers and white fathers were different. Some people loved their children and their mothers and tried either to hide them or to take them to another country where slavery was not so widespread. But some children had to grow up in the slave society and then also become slaves as their mothers were.
The marriages between white and black people are not a surprise in modern society. There is nothing to be ashamed of now. But the present customs and lows differ greatly from those which were more than one hundred years ago. During those times it was almost impossible to marry black slaves by white masters from the point of view of tradition.
The marriage between black and white people was impossible as the society was influenced by moral, religious, and political aspects. (Heller 1857) All these items were so strong in a society that no one dared to disobey.
There are a lot of talks about the injustice of that period. But history is unchangeable and people can only get lessons from the mistakes made in the past.
The people’s attitude is more conservative now to the marriages between white and black people. The time has passed and people understood that black people are the same as white are, and the marriages between these two races should be allowed.
Some people still regard the marriages between white and black people as miscegenation, we suppose it is wrong. These marriages were regarded as miscegenation when the discussion was held about slaves and masters. During those times the topic was rather up to date.
The unequal match was a shame. White masters could not allow themselves to fell in love with the slave as they could disgrace the whole family, the whole dynasty.
Such attitude is rather strange for the modern people, but in the middle of the XVII – XVIII century, it was a norm. The disgrace is called when we see a person who regards those marriages as a shame now. Modern people became more democratic, their views have changed and we hope that the slavery society will never come to the United States of America anymore.
Slave society is not regarded anymore as miscegenation between white masters and slaves; modern people understand and accept the idea of such marriages, they do not think about them as a shame or disrespectful.
References
Heller, H.R. (1857) “The Impending Crisis of the South” Reading the American Past: selected historical documents by Johnson, M. P.
Hemings, M. (1873) “Interview” Reading the American Past: selected historical documents by Johnson, M. P.