The Origin Of Negro Slavery By Oscar And Mary Handlin
Origins of the Southern Labor System, written by Oscar and Mary F. Handlin, tries to
explain how racial slavery was started in the American colonies. Oscar and Mary Handlin
believe that the negro slavery system in the south came about because of adjustment by the
American colonies, writing “slavery was not there from the start, that it was not simply imitated
from elsewhere, and that it was not a response to any unique qualities in the Negro himself”
(Handlin 199). The origin of slavery and racism and which came first is a very highly debatable
topic by many historians, but the Handlin’s believe that slavery came before racism, writing, “It
emerged rather from the adjustment to American conditions of traditional European institutions” …show more content…
They
write, “the distinctions between slave and free that had become important by the eighteenth
century was not a significant distinction at the opening of the seventeenth century. In the earlier
period, the antithesis of ‘free’ was not ‘slave’ but unfree; within the condition of unfreedom, law
and practice recognized several gradations” (Handlin 200). White and Negro slaves were treated
equally in the beginning, so slavery must of came before the mistreatment of negro slaves. The
Handlin’s also write that all slaves, including negro slaves, were treated with the same harsh
punishments. They write, “The Negroes’ lack of freedom was not unusual. These newcomers,
like so many others, were accepted, bought, and held, as kinds of servants…. But their ill-fortune
was of a sort they shared with men from England, Scotland, and Ireland, and with unlucky
aborigines held in captivity” (Handlin 203). The Handlin’s are able to show that slavery must
have come before racism because in the early seventeenth century, slaves and servants were all
treated the same, no matter their race or color.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the term slaves for Negro’s turned into a
explain how racial slavery was started in the American colonies. Oscar and Mary Handlin
believe that the negro slavery system in the south came about because of adjustment by the
American colonies, writing “slavery was not there from the start, that it was not simply imitated
from elsewhere, and that it was not a response to any unique qualities in the Negro himself”
(Handlin 199). The origin of slavery and racism and which came first is a very highly debatable
topic by many historians, but the Handlin’s believe that slavery came before racism, writing, “It
emerged rather from the adjustment to American conditions of traditional European institutions” …show more content…
They
write, “the distinctions between slave and free that had become important by the eighteenth
century was not a significant distinction at the opening of the seventeenth century. In the earlier
period, the antithesis of ‘free’ was not ‘slave’ but unfree; within the condition of unfreedom, law
and practice recognized several gradations” (Handlin 200). White and Negro slaves were treated
equally in the beginning, so slavery must of came before the mistreatment of negro slaves. The
Handlin’s also write that all slaves, including negro slaves, were treated with the same harsh
punishments. They write, “The Negroes’ lack of freedom was not unusual. These newcomers,
like so many others, were accepted, bought, and held, as kinds of servants…. But their ill-fortune
was of a sort they shared with men from England, Scotland, and Ireland, and with unlucky
aborigines held in captivity” (Handlin 203). The Handlin’s are able to show that slavery must
have come before racism because in the early seventeenth century, slaves and servants were all
treated the same, no matter their race or color.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the term slaves for Negro’s turned into a