Joseph J. Ellis, in his book "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation," discusses the complexities of African tribal culture and its historical practices. He notes that slavery was not an external imposition but a long-standing custom among African societies themselves. This context suggests that the experience of enslaved Africans in America mirrored, and perhaps intensified, a condition they might have faced in their homeland.

Ellis's perspective highlights a significant point in understanding the nature of slavery from a broader cultural standpoint. Rather than framing their situation in America as completely foreign, he implies that these individuals were transitioning from one oppressive circumstance to another, albeit under different conditions and forms of exploitation.