Introduction
The year 1942, when Christopher Columbus discovered America, became the beginning of two significant phenomena: the origination of the U.S. and the establishment of slavery. This economic and social institution lasted until 1865 when the Civil War ended, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed to prohibit slavery and vest the blacks in civil rights. While being enslaved, black people suffered from social injustice and were treated like property until society began to realize that it was not the way America should live. The ideology of racial inferiority was one of the primary causes of Black enslavement, and its influence continued even after the abolition of slavery.
Ideology of Race
Slavery in the U.S. was based on the belief in white supremacy and black inferiority. Apparently, there should be something that caused European newcomers to consider themselves superior to the natives and the blacks who later were enslaved. Indeed, Europeans’ aversion to the blacks stemmed from the writings of travelers who described Africans as savages, not ashamed of their nakedness, not having marital relationships, and inclined to cannibalism (Morgan 173). Another reason for considering black people inferior was that their women did not feel pain when they were giving birth to children (Morgan 189).
Europeans believed that sufferings during childbirth were the consequence of God’s curse upon Eve (Morgan 189). Therefore, the fact that female Africans did not experience pain while delivering children implied that they were not Eve’s descendants and had nothing in common with Europeans (Morgan 189). Edward Long even wrote that some African women were so savage that slavery was the only means for them to become civilized (qt. in Morgan 189). As a result, white people justified their exploiting the blacks as a labor force.
However, the difference between the level of civility of Europeans and Africans was not the only reason for slavery. Perhaps, it served as a cause for further development of racial bias. Scientists have proved that race is a fabricated concept since it has no biological basis; nevertheless, people still believe in its existence (Fields 96). Barbara Fields, in her article “Slavery, Race, and Ideology in the United States of America,” argued that when the whole society believed in “propositions that collapse into absurdity upon the slightest examination,” it was ideology (100).
Ideologies often can be implausible and absurd to an outsider, but to adherents, they serve as a self-evident way of explaining their customs and everyday rituals (Fields 110). Thus, the inferiority of the blacks was an American ideology, by means of which white people justified slavery.
The Development of Slavery
In the 17th century, Europeans began active colonization of the New World. At first, the majority of their labor force consisted of English indentured servants, but since their number was insufficient, they began to buy African slaves (Fields 102). However, English servants and African slaves arrived in the country and worked on different terms, which shaped further slavery. First of all, the English came to America voluntarily and were well-armed (Fields 103).
Therefore, infringing their rights was dangerous because they could rise in rebellion, and the news about it could cross the ocean and hinder future migration (Fields 103). Africans, on the contrary, were brought to the country forcedly, and they had neither support from their compatriots nor agreements with their masters (Fields 104). Nevertheless, they still enjoyed rights that were not available even for free black people later in that century (Fields 104). Thus, being brought to a foreign land and disconnected from countrymen made the blacks a vulnerable target population for enslavement.
A turning point in the history of Black enslavement took place in the 1660s. In 1661, slavery became systematic, and a slave code was passed, which deprived Africans of the rights they had enjoyed (Fields 104). It happened because European servants became dangerous to exploit since they were well-armed and ready to revolt (Fields 105). At the same time, the prices for African slaves decreased; earlier, a black slave “for life cost twice as much as an English servant for a five-year term,” which made Africans an expensive offer (Fields 104). Hence, in the 1660s, the period of severe oppression of black slaves began.
The submissive position of Africans in America contributed to the ideology of racial inferiority. Fields argued that “people are more readily perceived as inferior by nature when they are already seen as oppressed” (106). The author stated that although Africans could be considered alien to Europeans in terms of religion, nationality, and appearance, it was their oppression that made them appear inferior to white people (Fields 106).
The ideology of racial inferiority resulted in the fact that a black slave was not considered one person; according to the federal ratio, a slave was only three-fifths human (Fields 99). Consequently, the inability of the blacks to resist the maltreatment by Europeans led to their further enslavement.
The Heyday of Slavery
Perhaps, Americans gained the highest profit from slavery during the Cotton Revolution. In the 1800s, after the cotton gin was invented, the slave-owning South used all its resources, including a large number of slaves, to produce as much cotton as possible (Locke and Wright). The area where cotton was grown began to be referred to as the Black Belt because of a great number of dark-skinned slaves working there (Locke and Wright).
Although this cotton rush contributed to the U.S. economic growth, it was a risky enterprise for slaveholders and a severe ordeal for slaves (Locke and Wright). The more a planter wanted to earn, the more he had to spend on land, new slaves, and credits (Locke and Wright). To compensate for the masters’ investments, people in bondage had to work days and nights and suffer from many torments (Locke and Wright). Thus, the more slaveholders benefited from slavery, the more oppression slaves experienced.
It seems that southern planters were so obsessed with the capitalistic desire to make as much profit as possible that they did not care about the well-being of their workers. In fact, they concealed the truth about the maltreatment of slaves from their northern counterparts. Harriet Jacobs, a former slave, recalled that when a clergyman went to the South, slaveholders were nice to him, showed him their beautiful farms, and let him speak with slaves (Brent 114).
Slaves told him that they were happy in their position and did not want freedom (Brent 114). After this, the clergyman went back to the North, and even if he had had a feeling before that slavery was wrong, the picture he had seen convinced him of the contrary (Brent 114). Naturally, he did not know that slaves were forced to lie about their satisfaction (Brent 114). Perhaps, this “moonlight and magnolias” mythology about the enjoyable life in the South was among factors delaying the abolition of slavery.
The Abolition of Slavery
In the 1800s, during the Cotton Revolution, slaveholders and the government began to apprehend the side effects of slavery. Planters feared that about four million slaves living in the South could unite and organize a violent rebellion against their masters (Locke and Wright). The government, in its turn, considered that slaves should be freed but sent to another country because they were likely to start a war against their oppressors to avenge all the experienced atrocities (Locke and Wright).
Furthermore, since the North started the gradual emancipation, slaves began to escape from their slaveholders with the help of the Underground Railroad, a network of safe routes and supporting people (Locke and Wright). The U.S. society also realized the wrongness of Black enslavement. European ideas of the Enlightenment, namely that freedom is a natural right of everyone, gave rise to the Abolitionist Movement (Barnes 216). Therefore, the country felt a strong need for change in the institution of slavery.
The Civil War that took place in 1861-1865 became the last key turning point in the history of Black enslavement. The primary result of the war was that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which transformed the enslaved blacks from slaves into free people (Locke and Wright). Thus, slavery ended, but the racial ideology established in the minds of people could not be destroyed at the same moment. For this reason, even after the abolition of slavery, black people still experienced discrimination and social injustice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ideology of racial inferiority was the reason why Americans justified Black enslavement. This ideology stems from Europeans’ perceptions of Africans as savages and the helpless position of the black slaves compared to English indentured servants at the beginning of colonization. The oppression of African slaves led to their complete enslavement. However, as the number of slaves grew, they began to represent a danger to the country. This possible threat, as well as realizing that black people have the natural right to liberty, led to the Civil War that ended with the abolition of slavery.
Works Cited
Barnes, L. Diane. “Antislavery to Abolitionism.” A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson, edited by Sean Patrick Adams, John Wiley & Sons, 2013, pp. 213-228.
Brent, Linda. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Boston: Published for the Author, 1861.
Fields, Barbara Jeanne. “Slavery, Race and Ideology in the United States of America.” New Left Review, vol. 181, 1990, pp. 95-118.
Locke, Joseph L., and Ben Wright, editors. The American Yawp. Vol. 1, Stanford University Press, 2019. The American Yawp. Web.
Morgan, Jennifer L. “‘Some Could Suckle over Their Shoulder’: Male Travelers, Female Bodies, and the Gendering of Racial Ideology, 1500-1770.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 54, no. 1, 1997, pp. 167-192.