How the African and Native Americans Contributed to the Colonial American History - Essay Example

With their continual growth, the black Americans amassed wealth and influence before the native whites and Indians. The behaviours, practices and social life of the African and Native Americans shaped colonial America in several aspects.  At the same time, with their divergent social and cultural beliefs, colonial America also contributed immensely to shaping the practices of both two races. The twenty-first-century American culture can be highly attributed to the struggle and input of the black and Native Americans. The black Americans received a very hostile reception in which they were treated more like underdogs. They were barred from participating in societal activities, nor even serving in a position of authority above a white American.

Random killing by racial groups became an order of the day for the black Americans. However, despite the bleak future that faced them, the African Americans changed the course of their history and that of the continent for good. The fight that the African Americans embraced enabled them to change from being American slaves and workers to being American citizens, this became the basis of democratic struggle in colonial America. Despite the weaknesses that nature presented them with, the African Americans embody the true struggle for democratic freedom and equality for all Americans (Breen and Innes 74).

According to Breen and Innes 77, the eastern shores of Virginia developed during colonial America because of the black presence. . son, known mostly as ‘Antony the Negro’ is used by the authors to illustrate the spirit of hard work and struggle that the black Americans cultivated. He had a great ability to interact with other whites setting the pace for cross-cultural relations and friendships (Breen and Innes 74). The notion of more property equals more freedom and power among the American people was also built by these interactions by Antony the Negro.

The Native Indian population was subjected to the aggressive rule of the European colonizers. The arrival of the guest from the west meant a complete change of lifestyle and freedom within their society. The Indians were the original farmers in the American continent and this encouraged the Europeans to create agricultural settlements in the continent. As a result, the growth of farming and huge crop plantations in the continent was borrowed from the practices of the native Indians (Richter 84).

The development of the slave trade and immigration of the blacks into the American continents traces their roots to the activities and cultures of the Native Americans. As the need for more raw agricultural materials grew, the need for more strong and hardy workers developed. Africans became the only alternative due to their vulnerability and the European invasion at the time. The Indian Americans were also considered weak as compared to the blacks, this is how the native Indians shaped the history of colonial America (Richter 90).