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Slavery and the Law Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

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Slavery and the Law
Print Slavery and the Law Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 7 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.96

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		knell, manumission, recourse, polarize, corrupt, virtual, bondage, legislation, barred, better, founded, status, radical, immigrate, shun, federal
	content words:		American Revolution, Sierra Leone, United States, Thomas Jefferson, Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Law, Underground Railroad, Civil War, Fugitive Slave Act, Emancipation Proclamation

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Slavery and the Law By Mary L. Bushong

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¹     Imagine agreeing to work for someone for a set period of time. In return for that work you will do, they pay for you to immigrate to a new country, a trip you could not have made otherwise. That is the basic idea behind being an indentured servant. But what would happen if your "contract" was lost? You could easily find yourself in a position many of the first slaves found themselves. That problem did not affect just them, but their children as well.
 
²     In a time of severe labor shortage, it became convenient to declare the black arrivals slaves, not indentured servants as the first had been. After the American Revolution, the legal position of slaves was not debated. Generations of whites had lived in virtual slavery in Europe under the feudal system. Human bondage in many forms had been common up until then, and was generally accepted. When the U.S. Constitution was written, the phrase "all men" did not apply to slaves.
 
³     Slave owners were not required to give a minimal amount of care. Since slaves were considered no better than animals, a slave owner could do whatever he wanted with his "property." Some slaves were starved, some were beaten, and many slaves were worked to death. As people began to move to new territories, they took their slaves with them.

Paragraphs 4 to 10:
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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History

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A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)

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United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

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United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

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50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

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