Entry-level articles on USA slavery?

Question

I am a first period history student in Brazil, and have been studying the formation of American colonial societies during the 16th and 17th centuries. We have only now started studying the formation of North American societies and the 13 colonies. Our next class will be on how slavery developed in the USA and how it shaped its society.

But I've noticed that the available texts and materials are somewhat limited: the only available text is Slavery and Freedom: the American Paradox, a publication in the Journal of American History by professor Edmund S. Morgan.

So I got curious: what publications or books are used as references in the US, when studying the subject? As in, what do American history students first read on the subject of slavery and the trans-atlantic slave traffic?

Answer 1

Our next class will be on how slavery developed in the USA and how it shaped its society. But I've noticed that the available texts and materials are somewhat limited

Limited?!? Hardly!

Here are some general bibliographies on slavery. Not every item here is specific to the United States but you'll find loads of relevant stuff.

• https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/slavery/bibliography.html: This is a short list with a number of important texts, a good place to start.
• http://www.brycchancarey.com/slavery/biblio.htm: This one is also very concise and includes subject headings.
• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/modules/slavery/topics.html: See especially "Colonial and Revolutionary Eras"
• https://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/books.html: See especially "The Americas and slavery"

I'm not an expert on US slavery by any means but I'll close with a personal recommendation for one book in particular: The Plantation by E. T. Thompson. It's old but it's a classic, short and readable. It focuses on the US (specifically coastal Virginia) but it emphasizes general patterns that are relevant to Brazil and other contexts.