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What were the effects of importing African slaves into the Americas?

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The importation of African slaves into the Americas had profound effects, including the creation of multi-racial societies and entrenched racial hierarchies. In the U.S., it contributed to economic and social divisions, leading to the Civil War and Jim Crow laws. Slavery fostered brutalization, affecting both slaves and white people, and devastated African societies by removing many individuals in their prime. However, African culture enriched American art, music, and literature, promoting the idea of diversity.

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The importation of African slaves into the Americas had many effects on the Americas.  In the United States, the introduction of slaves led to a belief of an "inferior" race which permeated southern society for many years.  Because of slavery, many southerners could not imagine a society where whites and blacks lived as equals.  It led to major economic differences between the North and South.  It led to many disagreements about the spread of slavery in our country.  It ultimately led to the Civil War between the North and the South. It also led to the passage of Jim Crow laws which segregated the United States for many years. Throughout the Americas, an attitude existed for a long time that it was acceptable to enslave people against their will to serve one group of people. While most of the effects appear to be negative, there are some positive impacts which...

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affect us today. African or African-American culture has enriched the culture of the United States. Art, music, and literature are just some of the positive impacts on our culture. While it has taken a long time, the concept of a diverse country has been growing and becoming accepted. While most of the impacts mentioned above involve the United States, similar impacts (both positive and negative) have been felt throughout the Americas. The introduction of slavery had many effects on the Americas.

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There were many important effects of the importation of African slaves.  Among the most important are:

  • It created multi-racial societies in many countries of the Americas.  These contrives would later have to deal with the effects of having ex-slaves and the descendants of those slaves among their citizens.
  • It harmed both slaves and white people.  The system was one in which the slaves were brutalized and the whites were allowed and perhaps even encouraged to be brutal.  This was not good for either group.
  • It harmed the African societies from which the slaves were taken.  Taking that many people, mostly in the prime of life, had a devastating impact on the societies from which they were taken.
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