The American colonies were founded with the idea of ​​freedom and liberty for all. This objective, however, is clouded by a contradictory event: racism. Racism against African Americans (Blacks) in America was a byproduct of the permanent and inhumane enslavement of the Black population. This type of slavery was built on the need for the American colonies to achieve economic prosperity and social stability. Slavery before these social and economic problems was the same as that of whites. Black and white slaves and indentured servants received the same treatment, with equal punishments and working conditions. Both races were considered to be of equally low status and slavery itself in general had a term with a negative connotation. Free black men had the same English rights as their white companions and were seen in every respect as equal to whites. Only when the colonies began to strip blacks of all their titles and property and reduce them to chattel, or property, due to the need to solve economic and social problems, did racism emerge to define all blacks as slaves. Blacks, both free and enslaved, were treated in their respective classes equally to whites from the period from the founding of Roanoke until the late 1670s. Many black slaves from Africa were freed by their owners after a certain period of work. Slavery was not hereditary during this approximately eighty-year period. Additionally, freed blacks could report, be reported, do penance in the parish church for illegitimate children, and learn English. They could also earn a living to buy their freedom if they were slaves. Northampton, the only county with complete records, showed that there were at least ten free Negro families by 1... half of the record... the original English goal of securing freedom for all people. Denigrating a people because of the color of their skin is inherently superficial and naturally inhumane. However, regardless of racism's conflict with the very foundations of America, it allowed the English colonies to justify their incentive to thrive and prosper with stability by degrading African Americans to the lower classes. Works CitedEdmund S. Morgan. Slavery and freedom: the American paradox. USA: Organization of American Historians, 1972. History and Culture. “Bacon's Rebellion”. National Park Service United States Department of the Interior. http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm (accessed February 29, 2012). Oscar Handlin and Mary Handlin. Origins of the southern labor system. Virginia: Omohundro Institute of Ancient American History and Culture, 1950.