Essay - Blacks in Colonial America by Oscar Reiss Book Review: Blacks...

Blacks in Colonial America by Oscar Reiss

***** Review: Blacks ***** Colonial ***** by ***** Reiss

In the book Blacks in ***** America, Oscar ***** (1997) paints a cle*****r picture of the problems that *****se people faced and the struggles that they went through, which was the purpose of the book overall, ***** ***** main theme running through it. American slavery, a contributor to and reflection of racism, ***** developed when landowners sought to make profits from plantations of cot*****n. To accomplish this, ***** imported vast numbers of slaves from Africa. The physical appearance ***** the Africans was very different from that of white *****, thus making it possible for ***** whole slavery system to function effectively (Reiss, 1997). ***** whites defined the Africans as inferior and sub-human. By convincing themselves that their slaves were like animals, the whites could treat ********** like animals with a clear conscience.

The first slaves landed in Chesapeake in 1619, and within a few decades the slaves of Africa had become institutionalized in regulatory statutes called slaves codes. Slave codes became increasingly uncompromising, and punishments imposed on slaves became more severe as slavery exp*****ed beyond the colonies. Slaves codes were the mainstay ***** the United States' slave *****, reflected ***** attitudes of the dominant class, and ***** specifically created to protect the slave masters. Slave codes defined slaves as property without legal standing, mandated slavery as lifelong and inherited, and allowed harsh ***** brutal punishment ***** ***** who disobeyed (*****, 1997). The his*****ry of punishment during slavery w***** an extremely efficient institutional means to protecting slave o*****ners in the United States. Slavery prevailed for more than two centuries, because it was legally en*****ced. In 1705, the state ***** Virg*****ia included a code ***** stated "if anyone with authority correcting a ***** killed him in such correction, it sh*****ll not be accounted felony, and the killer would be freed as if such accident has never happened (Reiss, 1997, p. 56). ***** 1798, Georgia's constitution ********** a provision that stated: "Any person ***** shall maliciously dismember or deprive a slave of life shall suffer such punishment as ***** be inflicted in case ***** like offence had been committed on a free white ***** ********** on the ***** proof, except in case of *****surrection by such slave, and unless such death should happen by accident in giving such slave moderate *****" (*****, 1997, p. 58). It ***** be argued that ***** more restrictive *****, which limited the level ***** violence that could be directed towards slaves, helped maintain and expand the slave system by making it less *****. However, this argument could only help if ***** laws against brutality of slaves were strictly enforced.

***** all homicides ***** against slaves, from the colonial period until the end of slavery, ended in acquittals, or at most in verdicts of manslaughter, which meant that there had *****en some legal provocation ***** the slave. *****re were also killings that never led to criminal actions. However, occasionally some ***** masters *****