Slavery Is A Fundamental Part Of American History

Velasco, Victor R/ST 302 Question #1 Slavery is a fundamental part of American history and this country would not be where it is if it were not for the importation of the African American people, albeit against their wills this was a cornerstone of our country. Slavery is defined as a relationship in which absolute power and control is exerted over an individual’s life effectively leaving them with no liberty or much chance at a life of freedom as American citizens. Slavery overall cannot be attributed to being a good thing, at all really but it has existed in one-way or another around the word. African Americans are easily able to identify with the experiences that that Hebrew slaves have gone through but on a much extremer scale. There†¦show more content†¦Ancient Israelite people actually permitted slavery, although entire domination of one human being by another (as the Israelites agonized under Egyptian rule) was simply not allowed. Slavery in ancient times among the Israelites was really rather cl oser to what would later be called indentured servitude as slaves were often times seen as a vital part of a Hebrew household. There were actual circumstances where the stability of enslavement under a family in which the slave was well treated, as opposed to being treated with little to no respect would have been more inclined to attain economic freedom. It is difficult for researchers to count the number of slaves that were retained by Hebrews in ancient Israelite culture, or exactly what percentage of households actually held slaves, but it is possible to examine the social, legal, and economic effects of slavery. Examining select passages from the Bible in Hebrew, we see usage of the word â€Å"avadeem† although Avadeem is not the actual term for slave; it is the word for â€Å"worker† or the much more fitting term which is servant. The fact of the matter is that the Israelites in Egypt were not really slaves but so much as they were unwilling servants but then again that is in the same vein as slavery. Seeing as how they were not treated as severely and their culture remained intact which is in stark contrast to