Effects - Origins of Racism

Today, the United States is respected around the world as an international business powerhouse, notorious for a flourishing capitalistic marketplace. However, the very foundation for this commercial capitalist market was rooted in the exploitation of Africans. At first, the primary use of North American land was to provide the raw materials necessary for the British to produce goods to the end user. The need for cheap laborers soon arose. Europeans filled this void through the use of free laborers--African slaves. Africans were viewed as inferior beings, mere property to be traded and used like a horse or a cow, which gave Europeans the notion that this practice was morally acceptable. At first, only wealthy Europeans could afford the goods produced by the African slave trade; however, the goods soon became affordable to the middle class and the demand for additional slaves grew rapidly.

At the time of the American Revolution, slavery was the very basis for the American economy. Most of the country's industries revolved around and depended upon the use of traded peoples. If not directly using Africans to provide labor, most businesses in America somehow related to the use of this free labor and all Europeans benefited in some way. Textiles manufacturing was the staple industry during the Industrial Revolution, most of whose raw cotton was grown by enslaved Africans. Those not directly involved in the trade of Africans benefited from the purchase and sale of products created by the slavery system. The triangular trade emerged, allowing Europe and the American colonies to benefit, while exploiting blacks even further (to gain economically in Africa, one would have to take part in the trade by providing the laborers). The textile industry's success was based on the use of slave labor, and without it, it's questionable whether the U.S. would have become a major industrial power.

Sons and grandsons of the earlier traders in slaves and slave-produced products benefited both directly (by becoming captains of the industries fueled by the slave trade) and indirectly (by the intergenerational transference of wealth). Americans not only gained economically, but also in terms of living conditions and life expectancies. Even the educational system (i.e. Brown University) benefited from the profits of the slave trade. Political figures that helped form the bases for our nation's principles and are commonly viewed today as respectable, noble men (such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson) were able to live their luxurious lifestyles because of their slave ownership. The finances used to fight the American Revolution were essentially derived through the slave trade--American freedom was bought with the proceeds from African enslavement.

Until this class, I had little knowledge of the powerful economic and social effects that slavery had on the U.S. Although I recall being taught the basics about slavery in elementary school, it was bluntly ignored thereafter. It is difficult to assess the exact reasoning for the absence of this part of my formal education. As described in our readings and discussed in class, the idea of slavery being a thing of the past and therefore, worthy of ignorance, seems to be the prevailing notion of the American education system. In some way, each and every white American benefited from the slave trade--because of this, there is a certain degree of guilt associated with its discussion (even though it may be unconscious to some). European and African histories have been taught separately for so many years that it is often viewed as acceptable. To change the dynamics to include all of U.S. history (and what it truly consists of) involves changing the entire landscape of the educational system. It often takes decades to make slight changes in racist ideologies; however, progression is slowly being made and eventually there will be but one U.S. history consisting of both black and white.

2.

De facto segregation became a foremost difficulty for black Americans once legal segregation was outlawed. Until the civil rights movement of the 1950's, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were virtually disregarded. Virtual enslavement continued through the practices of the U.S. government on behalf of white group interests (and the quest for a continuation of privilege). Blacks lost the political power they gained during the Reconstruction period as white political interests joined to exclude them of their given rights. The decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case in 1896 affirmed whites' view of their supremacy. It upheld the legality of "separate but equal" facilities and reasoned that if one race was inferior to another, the Constitution cannot put them upon the same plane. Police-state conditions in the South helped to maintain segregated public facilities such as buses, water fountains, colleges, churches and hospitals. Blacks were only referred to by his/her first name (or derogatory terms such as "nigger"); since whites felt they did not