FREE ESSAY ON PLANTATION SLAVERY

PLANTATION SLAVERY

Slave Life
The warm climate, boundless fields of fertile soil, long growing seasons, and numerous
waterways provided favorable conditions for farming plantations in the South (Foster).
The richness of the South depended on the productivity of the plantations (Katz 3-5).
With the invention of the cotton gin, expansion of the country occurred. This called for
the spread of slavery (Foster).
Slaves, owned by one in four families, were controlled from birth to death by their white
owners. Black men, women, and children toiled in the fields and houses under horrible
conditions (Katz 3-5). The slave system attempted to destroy black family structure and
take away human dignity (Starobin 101). Slaves led a hard life on the Southern
plantations.
Most slaves were brought from Africa, either kidnapped or sold by their tribes to slave
catchers for violating a tribal command. Some were even traded for tobacco, sugar, and
other useful products (Cowan and Maguire 5:18). Those not killed or lucky enough to
escape the slave-catching raids were chained together (Foster). The slaves had no
understanding of what was happening to them. They were from different tribes and of
different speaking languages. Most captured blacks had never seen the white skinned
foreigners who came on long, strange boats to journey them across the ocean. They would
never see their families or native lands again. These unfortunate people 
were shackled and crammed tightly into the holds of ships for weeks. Some refused to eat
and others committed suicide by jumping overboard (Foster).
When the ships reached American ports, slaves were unloaded into pens to be sold at
auctions to the highest bidder. One high-priced slave compared auction prices with
another, saying, "You wouldn't fetch 'bout fifty dollas, but I'm wuth a thousand" (qtd.
in Foster). At the auctions, potential buyers would examine the captives' muscles and
teeth. Men's and women's bodies were exposed to look for lash marks. No marks on a body
meant that he or she was an obedient person. The slaves were required to dance or jump
around to prove their limberness. Young, fair-skinned muttaloes, barely clothed and ready
to be sold to brothel owners, were kept in private rooms (Foster).
It was profitable to teach the slaves skills so that during the crop off-season they
could be hired out to work. Although they were not being paid, some were doing more
skilled work than poor whites were. The better behaved slaves were allowed to be
carpenters, masons, bricklayers, or iron workers. The construction of bridges, streets,
canals, railroad lines, public buildings, and private homes was made possible by using
slave labor (Cowan and Maguire 5:44).
Slaves had no rights. This was done to keep them from revolting against their masters or
attaining too much power (Katz 3-5). They were not allowed to communicate with each other
or have meetings of any sort. To leave the plantation, a worker was required to have a
pass signed by the master and overseer. Slaves could not own property, although some
masters authorized it. Knives, guns, or any kind of weapon was not allowed. Forced
separation of family members was a constant, dreadful threat (Foster). "It was de saddes'
thing dat ever happen to me," one slave recalls of the sale of her sister, whom she never
saw again (qtd. in Foster). Blacks received harsher criminal sentencing than whites,
regardless of the crime (Cowan and Maguire 5:17). Marriage between slaves was not legally
recognized, but owners encouraged it because a more stable environment was created.
Married couples with children were less likely to attempt escape. Unfortunately, there
usually was not a suitable mate choice among the slaves, so most remained single
(Starobin 7).
Rebel slaves would recruit Indians, poor whites, and anti-slavery persons to attack all
white men, women, and children (Starobin 123-26). These uprisings occurred with at least
one major revolt per generation (Starobin 98). Most rebellions were led by skilled
artisans and industrial workers. The slaves depended on midnight surprise attacks and
support from many (Starobin 124). They would set fire to buildings; while the whites were
extinguishing the flames, angry slaves would assault them from behind (Starobin 123-26).
Owners were forced to "sleep with one eye open" in case the large masses of slaves
decided to uprise (qtd. in Foster).
On a much smaller scale, slaves expressed their hate by refusing their duties, performing
slow and sloppy work, stealing goods, fighting with overseers, sabotaging machinery and
tools, and resisting the white culture forced upon them (Starobin 98-99). Some attempted
to run away. They sought refuge in mountains and swamps. Professional slave catchers used
bloodhound dogs to track down runaways. Sometimes handbills with the description of the
slave were printed and distributed through several communities. In some cases, after a
few days or weeks in the wilderness, a slave would give up hope and return to his master.
Very few runaways escaped to freedom. Captured slaves would be beaten, burned, or killed
as an example to other slaves (Foster). Whipping was the most commonly used form of
punishment for disorderly slaves (David et al. 63-68).
Rewards were handed out to the fastest and most productive cotton pickers. One might
receive extra food rations or a new set of clothing. Some earned assignment to tasks of
choice. Permission to visit a neighboring plantation might be given or a trip to town
might be planned. Some overseers gave out small amounts of money to buy tobacco, jewelry,
or trinkets from peddlers (David et al. 69-70). Overwork pay was another favorable prize,
but few slaveowners used this method (Starobin 7).
A slave was considered lucky if he got to be a house servant. House servants were
considered the "aristocrats of slavery" (qtd. in Ploski and Williams 1438). They were the
best behaved and most submissive, occasionally even the mixed offspring of the master
himself. The house servants were raised in belief that they were superior to other slaves
in status and importance (Starobin 63). Intimate friendships often formed between master
and messenger (Ploski and Williams 1438). Young black boys and girls were sometimes
adopted into the family (Katz 4-5).
House slaves were allowed to practice trades such as tailoring and masonry. Some were
permitted to study music and teach. Duties of the housekeeper were managing the house,
caring for the children, and driving the buggy; they basically catered to the master's
requests (Ploski and Williams 1438). A slaveowner might enlist the help of his servant to
spy on overseers and tattle on other slaves (Starobin 63). Most house slaves lived in the
same house as the master (Ploski and Williams 1438). 
The majority of house servants were women; therefore, they were open and vulnerable to
sexual abuse. They were unsafe from lusty masters and overseers, even
fellow slave men, who ignored state laws against rape. Powerless women were forced into
prostitution. The slave woman suffered most by the white "fiends who bear the shape of
men." (qtd. in Foster). Fortunately this seldomly occurred (Foster). Sometimes a willing
relationship between master and slave evolved (Ploski and Williams 1438). 
Field hands met a much harsher fate. "Unrelieved horror and vicious cruelty" described
the day-to-day life of a field hand (qtd. in Katz 3). They were in charge of sowing,
reaping, and planting commercial crops like cotton and tobacco under the watchful eye of
unmerciful overseers (Ploski and Williams 1437). They worked in all weather conditions
from sunup to sundown every day. Slaves were rarely used to grow grains such as wheat,
rye, and barley because they were considered unsuitable to handle it (Katz 4-5). Field
laborers cared for equipment and kept gardens in shape (Ploski and Williams 1437). When
the need for soldiers arose during war, some blacks enlisted into the militia, either
willingly or by force from the master (Cowan and Maguire 5: 17).
Masters kept food, clothing, and shelter at bare minimum to reduce costs (Starobin 7).
Often workers were given a small shack with no windows, a bare dirt floor, and a leaky
roof. Several families might live in one crowded room. They were allowed corn or rice,
maybe a bucket a week, and rarely received meat as a food staple. The field slaves were
very malnourished. The slaves were given one set of clothing to wear for years, and most
did not have shoes (Ploski and Williams 1439). As a result of the poor living conditions,
disease and death rates were kept high (Starobin 7). Most adult slaves were worked to
death in eight to ten years (Ploski and Williams 1437). Slavery was a terrible
institution. It took people's lives and tore them apart. Many black people suffered for
decades. Slaves were exposed to prejudice and inhuman
treatment. They lived in unthinkable conditions, stripped of their dignity and rights as
human beings. Slavery changed the path of history forever.
Works Cited
Cowan, Tom, and Jack Maguire. Timelines in American History. New York: Perigee Books,
1994.
David, Paul, et al. Reckoning with Slavery. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.
Foster, Stephen T. The Civil War Collection. New York: New Viewpoints, 1974.
Katz, William Loren, ed. Slavery to Civil War. Vol 2. New York: Franklin Watts, 1974.
Ploski, Harry A., and James Williams. Reference Library of Black America. Vol 5. New
York: Gale Research, 1990.
Starobin, Robert S., Blacks in Bondage. New York: New Viewpoints, 1974.