When the African people were first brought to the New World, estranged from their homeland, they adapted their native rituals, religions, customs, language, and arts to their new home. In doing so, they held onto their rich heritage while introducing aspects of it into the Americas. From the new set Slavery in the Americas, ''Life Under Slavery'' explores this intriguing time in American history more thoroughly. Topics include: the blending of different African ethnic groups; the black codes and slave life; the cotton gin and the profitability of slavery; new family structures that evolved in response to broken families; the roles of the Freedmen's Aid Society and the American Missionary Society in preparing blacks for freedom.