Effects of Slavery on American Society

African American slavery has a dramatic impact on slaves and it changed all time periods in American society throughout America’s history. From the 1600’s when slaves first arrived from Africa, through the Civil War, Great Depression, Civil Rights Era and up until today, slavery’s impact has been felt in America. Slavery was brought to America as early as 1619, but we chose to keep it here for over 200 years, longer than any other country who also adopted the ways of slavery. Our economy flourished with the cheap labor of slaves, and as new inventions, and products came to our attention, we always had a cheap way to produce a mass quantity of it. The South is known for being Pro-slavery, while the Northern states where known for being against slavery. Even after slavery was abolished, racism, discrimination and segregation existed for many more years. Then came the Civil Rights era, winning the elimination of Jim Crow laws and legally making blacks equals, however, the hate crimes and racism still carried on, and until whites set aside their differences and the laws began to be strictly enforce against hate crimes and segregation, the blacks did not get the same privileges as the previously preeminent white race.
Slavery came to America in 1619, and stayed until 1865, and the effects lasted all the way through the 1900’s. As a plantation economy arose in the South, it created a need for more slaves. Slavery had been practiced in British North America from early colonial days, and was firmly established by the time the United States ' Declaration of Independence was passed in 1776. After this, there was a gradual spread of abolitionism in the North, while the rapid expansion of the cotton industry in 1800 caused the South to side strongly with slavery, and attempt to extend it into the new Western territories (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Slavery_in_the_United_States). The first slaves were brought to America on a Dutch Ship in the year 1619 and docked at