Racial ideologies were born in 1776, with the Declaration of Independence. They justified slavery during a time when everyone else in the country was being awarded inalienable rights and freedom. Another factor which gave rise to the ideology of racial inferiority was the existing oppression and lack of rights of African slaves. Because they were already oppressed, it was easier for people to see them as inferior, the defining factor of their inferiority eventually becoming skin color. However, slavery did not always concern race. In the 1600s, white English indentured …show more content…
There was no systematic slave code at all, because one was unnecessary until slavery did become systematic. However, in the 1670s, enslaving Africans became advantageous, due to the large amount of freed white indentured slaves who now posed a threat to the rulers of Virginia. Replacing white indentured slaves with African slaves meant that freed slaves could no longer increase their numbers, because African slaves were never freed. Slavery also limited the need for free people to exploit each other, which made it even more