On one hand, it created a small class of rich and
powerful white planters. On the other, it victimized the small
white planters, or white laborers, and the ever-growing mass of
African slaves.
The second unique factor in American slavery was the growth of
individualism. While this democratic spirit attracted many
European immigrants, it only served to increase the burden of
slavery for the African. Instead of being at the bottom of the
social ladder, the slave in America was an inferior among equals.
A society which represented itself as recognizing individual
worth and providing room for the development of talent, rigidly
organized the entire life of the slave and gave him little
opportunity to develop his skills. In America, a person's worth
became identified with economic achievement. To be a success in
Virginia was to be a prosperous planter, and white individualism
could easily become white oppression leaving no room for black
individualism. The existence of slavery in a society which
maintained its belief in equality was a contradiction which men
strove diligently to ignore.
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