History of Slavery in America
Slavery in America began when African slaves were first brought to the North American colony in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to assist in the production of profitable plants such as tobacco. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and African-American slaves helped to build the economic foundations of the new nation. The discovery of gin (cotton seed separator) cotton in 1793 established the importance of the center of slavery for the Southern economy. In the mid-19th century, America's westward expansion, together with the abolition of the growing right in the North, sparked a huge debate over slavery that would trigger the American Civil War (1861-1865). Although the Union's victory liberated 4 million nations from slavery, the legacy of slavery continued to influence American history, from the tumultuous years of Reconstruction (1865-1877) with the civil rights movement that emerged in 1960, a century after emancipation. Backgr...