Racism in America
Written by: Gianna Pegoraro
Slavery
Slavery began when European merchants started the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade is a multilateral system of trading in which a country pays for its imports from one country by its exports to another. Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves. There were so many slaves needed in the New World because it required many workers and the work was back-breaking. There were more slaves in the Southern part of our country because it was based on plantation farming. Plantations required large numbers of workers.
Slaves in America were treated poorly. A typical day for a slave was they worked from dusk to dawn and rarely got fed or slept. Slaves were punished if they didn't listen or they tried to runaway and if they did try then they would get beaten, whipped, or hung. They were not allowed to go to school, attend church, marry, or have children. They were treated as property because they worked and worked and rarely slept or ate. If they were caught running away they would get whipped or hung.
It took until 1865 for slavery to be illegal in the United States with the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1776, Delaware prohibits the importation of African slaves. In 1781, Mum Bett and another Massachusetts slave successfully sue their master for freedom. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution is drafted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1788, New York passes a new comprehensive slave law, confirming that all current slaves are slaves for life. In 1793, Georgia prohibits international slave trade.
Ways to Improve Race Relations
There are still racial tensions in America today. Sometimes police just shoot black people even if they did nothing wrong. There are still some schools where there is a separate school for blacks and another school for whites. Sometimes white people will trash black peoples houses for the fun of it or because they hate blacks. Also sometimes blacks can't get jobs because of their skin color which is not fair. And with water fountains too, the blacks can not drink water from the same water fountain as whites.
The legacy of slavery has contributed to these racial tensions. It is so difficult to forget our country's history of supporting slavery because it is one of the worst things that could happen in America. Slavery was abuse and brutal which makes it hard to forget. Slavery was awful and to know that it happened in America makes it even worse. Slavery was also bad because the slaves rarely slept and got fed. Slaves were not treated like humans which makes it difficult to forget about our country's history.
The one idea I had to improve race relations in America is to make a blog. I want to make a blog that has all the reasons why slavery is a horrible thing. I want to make it clear that slavery is awful and disturbing. I would let people write what they want on my blog as long as it is appropriate. I would write on my blog everyday and post what I think about slavery. I would show how bad whites treated blacks back then and now. I think it is very important to let the whole world know that slavery is not ok and I hope blacks are happy with my blog. My goal is to try and show whites what they have done to blacks and hopefully whites will learn from that big mistake.