In 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy, James Horn poses this question:
Did slavery and racial prejudice gradually evolve in Virginia during the half century following the arrival of the Angolans, or did de facto enslavement of Africans begin in 1619?
While Horn argues that racial slavery began in 1619, Berlin contends between 1660-1760 “[t]he growth of a slave society and the degradation of free people of African descent were part of the same process of making slavery and making race.”
This assignment asks you to take a side in the debate. To do so, you will have to carefully evaluate each authors claims and evidence, pointing out their relative strengths and weaknesses, in support of your argument.
Conclude your paper with some broader implications of race and the founding of American democracy.
