The Early Roots of Slavery and Racism in America Throughout the 1600s, the adoption of Spanish ideologies in conjunction

with a series of events that transpired in the British colonies not only resulted in the replacement of indentured servants with black slaves, but also marked the beginning of blatant racial discrimination. In the early 17th century when the colonies were first forming and adjusting to life in America white indentured servants were the primary labor force relied on. They would dedicate 4-7 years of service in exchange for a free passage from England to the New World. Although some servants were black, most were white, but both white and black servants were perceived as equals in the colonies. It wasnt until the mid through late 17th century that colonists began to develop negative perceptions of blacks and implemented black slaves as their new labor force partially in response to the success of slavery in the Caribbean, but also due to several occurrences that took place throughout the colonies. While numerous factors contributed to these happenings, there were (number) of chief significance ultimately responsible for the shift from white indentured servants to African slave labor.

Labor shortage, Tobacco boom (Plantations) (Sugar?) economically beneficial (used to sun), slave for life no benefitsland, food, money etc., (+sugar success in Caribbean), bacons rebellion, slave trade profitable for northern port cities,

Bibliography Primary Sources: Bacon, Nathaniel. Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People. Constitution Society. http://www.constitution.org/bcp/baconpeo.htm. Beverley, Robert. Of the Servants and Slaves in Virginia. The History and Present State of Virginia. http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/59bev.html. Shifflett, Crandall. Virtual Jamestown. http://www.virtualjamestown.org/indlink.html. Secondary Sources: Cheng, John. Race - the Power of an Illusion. Ford Foundation. http://www.pbs.org/ race/000_About/002_04-background-02-03.htm. Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. New York: Doubleday, 1996. From Indentured Servitude to Racial Slavery. Ford Foundation. http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3_txt.html.

Mahoney, John. African Americans as a Minority Racial Purity Laws. L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. http://www.people.vcu.edu/ ~jmahoney/lec08net.htm. Oakes, James. Dictionary of American History. Vol. 6. 3rd ed. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 2003. Slavery and Indentured Servants. Law Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ ammem/awhhtml/awlaw3/slavery.html.