History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

History - Assignment Example Arguably, the most divisive political issue in American history has been slavery; understanding its evolution over time is key in helping to explain a significant portion of our nation’s past. Trace the path of slavery from its origins in early European colonization of North and South America to the time of the Constitutional Convention. How did the practice of African slavery begin? How and why did it expand in the 13 English colonies of North America? Finally, how was the issue of slavery impacted by the American Revolution? Slavery in Africa has existed even before the Arabian and the Atlantic slave trade. Owning of slaves is part of their culture and it was boosted by the Roman siege and influenced by Islam and other introduced as well as native religions (Lovejoy, 2012). But the start of African slavery in the American colonies is pegged at 1619, when the 1st African slaves docked in Virginia (Berlin, 2003). From Virginia, the practice of slavery spread to all 13English Colonies in North America. The slaves were used as laborers in cotton, sugar, and other plantations, household help, as well as skilled workers in the craft of carpentry, and welding among others. It was also a status symbol promoted by the government so as to quell the disparity of rich, land-owning Whites against the poor, land-less Whites. This move strengthened the foundation for racial slavery and racism (Wood, 2005). The American Revolution started the transformation in the attitudes of the colonial Whites towards slavery that w ill eventually lead in the abolition of slavery in January 01, 1863, with President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation. The newly freed â€Å"Americans† set freedom as one of its country’s undeniable virtues and with that, slavery must be put to an end. The presidential proclamation against slavery became the key to abolishing African slavery yet a considerable amount of time still passed between the enactment of