How Did Slavery Influence American Culture

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The United States’ history has a very dark past. One of the many disturbing things that occurred was slavery. Slavery was an awful time in our history and it is very known that slaves were incredibly mistreated but also influenced the American culture greatly. Slaves did a lot of manual human labor. They did both unskilled and skilled labor. This was mainly separated into field work and house work. Women were usually cooks, maids, and nannies. They also did “minor” tasks such as sewing. Men were usually waiters or butlers. People who did skilled work usually worked outdoors. They were farmers, blacksmiths, and harvested crops. Slaves also chopped wood, brought water, ironed, washed clothing, feed animals, and milk cows. Since slaves were not recognized as people, white people did not make sure to establish their relationships. Owners separated married people, children, and siblings. When children were separated from their family, often other adult slaves on the same …show more content…
Music and dance is a very large one. They formed new religions and groups from songs and dances they had created as a coping mechanism. Many mainstream forms of American music can be traced back to the roots of slaves. Slaves that were craftsman or very skilled often made art, furniture, and other items to express African culture. These people also include carvers, sculptors, and quiltmakers. Slaves also had a huge impact on southern culture. Southern speech is influenced by Africans. Many sermons and other forms of oral expression and literature is traced back to its African-American roots. Southern soul food is African-American cuisine from the slave era. Slavery is an enormous part of American history and is often portrayed with a silver lining. The reality is that slavery was much more influential than we think it actually is. Many of our everyday ideas and creations come from African-American culture and