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The first recorded slaves in Virginia arrived in late August 1619. The White Lion, a ship owned by Robert Rich, docked at what is now Old Point Comfort (located in modern-day Hampton) with approximately 20 Africans. They had been seized by the British from a Portuguese slave ship. This marks the start of the rich economic slave history of what would become known as the United States.
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"Massachusetts Body of Liberties", the first legal code established by European colonists in New England, legalized slavery. Massachusetts became the first state to officially legalize the practice in the new world. The Bodies of Liberties was amended in 1670 to include the enslavement of a slave woman's offspring to be a legal slave. This approved the act of slavery and legally protected white people who wanted to own slaves.
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Virginia law declared that children "shall be bond or free according to the condition of the mother." This law made children born to a slave, a slave for life. This in turn increased the profit of slave owners because if they bought women who could reproduce then they could create their own "breeding" ground and not have to buy new slaves, just produce more at no cost.
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Rice cultivation was introduced in South Carolina in 1694. This radically increased productivity and demand for slaves in the south. South Carolina became known as the "Rice Kingdom." The rise of plantations in the south led to economic prosperity because of the use of slave labor. This attracted many more people to its opportunities and increased the sale of slaves.
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In South Carolina, African Americans outnumbered European Americans. They remained the majority until the 1930s. This shows the great amount of power that white people held over slaves--the slaves outnumbered them but still lived in the bondage of white people. The sheer amount of slaves in the country showed how lucrative the business was--for the shipping, plantation, and trade industries alike.
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Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3 determined how slaves would be counted in the US census. Northern states with little slave populations wanted slaves to not be counted as a person because they were considered "property" and would give the south more elected representatives because of the increased population. The south wanted the opposite--slaves to be counted the same as a person. To compromise, they count each enslaved person as 3/5.
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Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which was able to produce 10 times as much cotton per day as the average enslaved person. It was originally thought to decrease the need for slave labor but actually made it grow. This was because of the increased demand for cotton resulting from the invention. Also, as a result, cargo ships were now built bigger, better, and easier to navigate. This improved the economy in many areas, although also increasing the need for slave labor.
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"The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves" mandates that no new slaves are to be imported to the United States. This was also applied in the British Parliament. This law did not prohibit slavery, just the importation of more individuals. However, the act was not well-enforced and some slaves were still imported on a more limited basis.
