Final answer:
African Americans faced severe restrictions and brutality as slaves, with photographs and documented instruments of restraint highlighting the cruelty of the system. Free Black individuals faced persistent discrimination and obstacles in their daily lives. The expectation of slavery's end was quashed by the profitability of slave labor on cotton plantations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The experiences of enslaved African Americans involved severe restrictions of their legal rights, as well as brutal treatment by slaveholders. Photographs and drawings from the period, such as those showing a victim's scarred back and the instruments used to restrain enslaved people, played a significant role in spreading the abolitionist message about the cruelty of slavery. Legislatively, laws passed across various colonies and states cemented the position of African Americans as slaves, restricting their activities, opportunities for freedom, and advancement. For example, 1680 Virginia legislation restricted their movement, association, and ability to carry weapons. In addition to brutal physical treatment, slaveholders also frequently raped enslaved girls and women, creating complex family dynamics and further entrenching the cruel system.
Life for free Black people in both the North and South was marked by persistent discrimination. The hopes of slavery's natural disappearance were dashed as the profitability of slave labor on cotton plantations soared. Despite being free, Black individuals faced various societal obstacles and were often subjected to harsh laws that hindered their civil liberties. Furthermore, the difference in the economic situation between the Upper and Deep South resulted in different levels of severity in these restrictions.
Overall, enslaved Africans and their descendants faced a harrowing existence with no legal rights and were frequently betrayed by the very figures that held power over their lives - the slaveholders.