IN-CLASS ONLINE LESSON #5

Answers

a. When and how did slavery begin in the southern US states? Slavery started in the southern US state in year 1638. It started when trade went on between the African companies and the English. Slaves were need to do hard labour for example, in farms.

b. Which country were the slaves primarily brought from? Slaves were brought from Africa to the Untied States.

c. Who traditionally bought and owned the slaves? The British people were the first to buy slaves but first-century Romans were the first to own slaves.

d. What were the laws/rules that the slaves had to abide by? Slaves was outside the protection of common law, they are also not allowed to go against whites and their owners or try to run away (escape). In the past it was allowed for the owner to kill the slave.

e. Were slaves considered "people" under the law? If not, how did slaveowners see them? Slaves were not considered as “people” as they did not have any human rights. In the past, It was also legal for owners to kill their slaves. The slaves that refused to obey their masters were treated badly and they might be killed as they was not under the protection of the law. Slaveowners see slaves as animals or “free” workers. They are among the lowest standards of servants and they serve their owners till they die, and everything regarding the slaves are controlled by their owners.

f. How does the notion of slavery relate to TKAM? Does the study of slavery help you understand the novel better? The blacks are not seen as human. The whites think that blacks are uneducated and have no integrity. As for slavery, the slaves were also not treated and seen as humans. The owners treat the slaves like animals, ordering them to do many hard jobs and subjecting the slaves to violence. The slaves were punished for not working fast enough, and some were even murdered. Many slaves were separated from their family forcefully and could not resist. This is almost the same treatment of the blacks from the whites in TKAM. For example, whenever the whites fight with the blacks in court, the white would surely win no matter how much evidence the black has, like the case of Tom Robinson.

Reflection After doing research on slavery, I learned many new things. At the start, I did not even know what "google scholar" is, and it was quite a challenge to use the google scholar as the information given in it was not very specific, and it was real hard to find what we wanted. However, as I did more research on slavery using google scholar, I was able to use it considerably well and succeeded in completing the assignment. I find that it was quite a new method of research and that the information there was quite accurate, unlike wikipedia, where some of the information may differ from the actual fact. I also learned about the history of slavery. Before the lesson, I thought that the problem of slavery started only during the 19th and 20th century, but the reality was not the same. Slavery started way long ago, from the times where the Romans conquered huge areas of lands. The people living in the conquered lands of the Roman empire were either killed or used as slaves, and this was the begining of slavery. One of the reasons why in the past, some countries joined Roman or surrendered to Roman was because of this reason: Their country might be totally destroyed and its people might live as slaves for their entire lives.

Slavery had always been a cruel fact since ancient times, and it has not yet been removed totally, although the amount of slaves had decreased significantly. After doing research, I really felt disgusted by the acts of slave owners. How can they treat people, human beings, like animals! Slaves really lived a horrible life. At the start, they were born, and grew up. Then, some heartless people either kidnapped or forced them or tricked them into becoming slaves. Then, they lived their entire lives working for an owner that treated them badly. If they were very sick, they would just be left to die and they do not even have a proper funeral! All their lives are dedicated to working but they do not even have the slightest form of human rights. Everything they had belonged to their owner. I was really very grateful that I lived in Singapore, a society where slavery is at its least, as I really cannot imagine working as a slave! In conclusion, I felt that it is really important to have a society with strict laws, so as to prevent ill treatment of human beings. I feel that all human beings should be treated fairly. Also, it is very important to appreciate what we had and not be too greedy. This was a real intersting and meaningful lesson indeed!