How Did American Slavery Begin: Readings

by Edward Countryman (Editor)

How did slavery in America begin? Gangs of black slaves toiling on large southern plantations dominate many students' ideas of African American history. Although ultimately the reality for most forced immigrants of African descent, the institution of slavery was not inevitable in colonial America. Each of the 5 selections in this volume attempts to show students how slavery emerged, how it became the defining condition for African Americans in the British colonies, and how its development influenced and transformed every aspect of society from colonial law and politics to social relations and cultural values.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1999

About the author

Edward Countryman was an American historian known for his study of the American Revolution.

Reviews

[Geicodave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of essays dealing with the origins of American slavery and how and why it was eventually imposed solely on blacks. One of the great conundrums of our history and will probably never be definitively settled. Out of all the essays, I think Morgan's comes closest to solving the riddle.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a class. Super interesting to see how scholarship on American slavery has changed over time.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for my history class and need to write a summary of it. While some points the essays brought up were interesting, the reading was very dull.