Analysis of Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice Article Essay

Analysis of Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice Article - Essay Example Degler states that, â€Å"†¦ the status of the Negro in the English colonies was worked out in a framework of discrimination; that from the outset, as far as the available evidence tells us, the negro was treated inferior to the white man’s servant of the free man† (Degler 52). Degler in this statement puts a halt to the discussion on what came first between slavery and discrimination and asserts that slavery evolved from the continued discrimination of the Negro by the white man, partly because there were no structures to protect Negros in America. Consequently, slavery evolved as a legal status and an epitome to discrimination. Degler seeks to differentiate the difference in the treatment of Negros in the Spanish and Portuguese Iberian region to that of the British. He explains that the major differences were that while the former had already fixed legal status to deal with the Negro even before they ventured into America, the same structures lacked in British te rritories. Secondly, Degler explains that â€Å"the discrimination against the negro antedated the legal status of slavery† (Degler 52). These were the main facts that differentiated British treatment of the Negros from the Spanish and the Portuguese. Degler in his argument makes a clear statement that slavery in the North American region left a considerably different mark on the status of Negros compared to the South American region, which according to Degler explains the current cases of racism in America. Degler asserts that as Handlin asserted, before the seventeenth century, the term slavery was not in use. However, Degler is fast to clarify that the fact that the discriminatory name did not exist does not indicate there was similar treatment between the Negro and the freeman.