Slavery In America Research Paper

Maxine Buott
Cory Baldwin
HIST-1500Y
November 19th, 2014
Religion and Music = Freedom?
Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of lucrative crops such as tobacco. Since then slavery has expanded and become very popular, which is why during the major cotton boom in America during the Antebellum Period there was another increase of slavery. Slavery deprived slaves of their basic rights such as the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. For many slaves they were born into that life while others were captured and forced to be slaves. Slaves were forced to live a life their masters chose for them which resulted
Freedom doesn’t necessarily mean physical freedom, but it does entail emotional freedom, psychological freedom and identity freedom.
Their songs and spiritual values allow them to pursue action with confidence which “brings them into touch with gods and spirits, and makes them less strange in the natural world”.24 Their religion, music and oral traditions all contained images of heroes and future promise which allowed for a cultural refuge which was capable of protecting their personalities and identities from some of the “worst ravages of the slave system”.25
After gaining confidence and an identity from their music and religion, Blacks believed that they had a new mission in life. They believed that God had allowed slavery to occur so that “enslaved Africans might accept Christianity and civilisations and then return on day to Africa and convert the fatherland”.26 They also believed that it was God’s belief that American Christianity was corrupt and it was their duty to reform it and make it better since they believed that “the essence of Christian life was not ethics, but liturgy”.27 Blacks believed that God should be the centre of Christianity and not the Bible, which is opposite to what most White Christians believed.28 From this ideal it gave many slaves a reassurance that everything they went through was for the greater good. It gave them
When they arrived in America they were stripped of their identity. They were in a new world where they were sold and own as property. They had no basic rights. All this took a toll of slaves and many had self-esteem, confidence and identity issues. Once they began a life in America and began to recreate their culture through religion and music they began to improve on their issues. The slave’s religion and music helped individuals and the community protect their identity and take their freedom from their white masters. Their culture gave them a reason to live and fight for what they believe in. People like William Heard, Richard Cain, Henry Turner, James Hood and many others were influenced by religion, which gave them the courage to become legislators, bishops and ministers.29 They began a path to a new world where people of all cultures and religions were equal. Derived from that path there were various organizations that were formed to fight for the Blacks beliefs, such as the American Anti-Slavery Society, African Methodist Episcopal Church and many more. These organizations have taught us that if we believe in something we have the right to stand up for ourselves and fight for what we believe in. Whether it’s standing up to a bully, fighting for women’s rights or standing up for your ideals, it’s always important to know that in the end all your hard work will pay off. Just like William