Enormous changes swept nearly every facet of American society in the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War, and the institution of slavery was no exception. this rule. Before the Revolution, slavery existed in all the American colonies. The growing settler population was founded and maintained by notions of inequality, in which indentured servants and slaves provided the labor necessary to develop a largely agricultural economy and settle a further frontier. and more reduced. First- and second-generation whites began to equate race and servitude as white indentured servitude declined and black slaves came to represent the primary source of forced labor in the Americas. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many whites and blacks first negotiated the terms of slavery – new slave owners sought to define the status of slaves and create a viable workforce from individuals unfamiliar with the language, land or expectations of their country. guards; the new slaves, still closely linked to their original language and culture, had difficulty understanding the new status imposed on them in a foreign country. As each group viewed the other as hostile outsiders, dehumanization and brutality were commonly used by the new masters to conform African behavior to their expectations and needs. After the American Revolution, slavery underwent significant transformations, alongside larger changes that swept the political, economic, and religious structure of the nation. The spirit of freedom in which the revolution took place gave pause to whites who had begun to take slave status for granted and provoked different reactions in the North and South. Gradual emancipation in ...... middle of paper ...... different from that of the colonial years - it was a typically southern institution, rooted in the accepted tradition of past generations, bringing masters and slaves together, and sparking a radical opposition for the first time in the North. In another way, antebellum slavery was a product of its earlier incarnation, shaped and transformed by the political, economic, and religious revolutions of the interwar period, much like the rest of society. In 1861, an even greater revolution would be necessary to form a society freed from its yoke. Works consulted Douglas, Frederick. Account of the life of an American slave, written by himself. New York: Signet, 1968. Ginzberg, Lori D. Women in Antebellum Reform. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2000. Kolchin, Peter. American slavery, 1619-1877. New York: Hill and Wang, 2003.