Everyday Life of Slaves in the 1850's

Before the Civil War, the American slave industry in the South was thriving with over 4 million enslaved. The slaves’ lives consisted of constant arduous labor and slaves lacked any sort of freedom. Slaves in America were continuously oppressed by the American people and were used as a source of profit. Many laws and legislation, including the Fugitive Slave Acts, were passed purposefully aimed to keep freed and current slaves at a disadvantage. Liberated slaves and some Northerners wanted to end slavery and created things like the Underground Railroad to help enslaved Americans escape and gain liberation. Even with the help of abolitionists, the conditions of the life of a slave prior to the Civil War was defiling and inhumane.

Slavery should not have even started in America, because when America was made, some important documents were made that set up our government, and everything that the nation felt was wrong, namely the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Slavery, however, goes against what these documents say. For example,

Life for African American Slaves in the United States greatly differed from that of a typical white citizen. Beginning in 1619, slaves were being forced to the United States from their homeland of Africa where they would be bought and owned by a white man. Many were auctioned off and separated from their families to work on farms on arrival to America. Slaves were brought in for many years from Africa, but in 1808 international slave trade was no longer legal. Domestic slave trade, however, continued and thrived because many slaves were having children and raising families in captivity. There were many restrictions placed on what slaves were allowed to do. In

The United States of America, a symbol for freedom and liberty throughout the world, was built upon the backs of millions of vulnerable slaves. By the time we became a country in 1776, slavery was engrained in many of our founding fathers minds as the source of economic wellbeing. Each state, community and individual had their own ideas about the institution and whether it was morally or constitutionally right. It is one of the highest debated topics in the history of our country. Slavery, controversial as it may be, was an integral part of the maturation of our young nation.

In order for them to generate a more lucrative business, the south used slaves as a labor source to produce crops, which had the largest impact on the southern lifestyle. This in turn boosted the south's economy, which allowed the the southern life to thrive and create a distinction between themselves and the other economies of North America. Whilst slaves dominated the southern economy, slaveholders only accounted for about two to three percent of the southern population. This small, yet powerful percentage of individuals were the people successful in agricultural business and the driving force behind the usage and continuation of slavery in the South. Without slaves there would be no cotton, tobacco, or sugar production and without these integral items, the Southern economy would absolutely collapse. The South depended on slaves to fuel their economy which in turn allowed for slavery to dominate the economy and be the sole resource of the South.

Without slaves, it would have been very hard for the South to become productive. Huge plantations that required hundred?s of workers never would have made it during the 1600 and 1700s. The introduction of slaves greatly increased productivity and profits for the South. Using slaves had advantages over indentured servants. First, children that were born from an enslaved woman were property of the person who owned the slave that had the child. This meant that slave owners wouldn?t have to buy new slaves if old slaves died. Since the slaves were a different color than the colonists, run-a-ways could be found easier and therefore plantations didn?t loose as many slaves as they would have if they were using indentured servants. Slave owners also found out that even though slaves were more expensive than indentured servants, they proved to be

In the 1800s slavery wasn’t a new concept in America. The sad truth was that this way of life in the “Old South” was normal. Many challenged it, some thought it was the only way, that slavery was natural way of living and blacks were only seen as property. In the era of slavery, most people often wonder if it could’ve ever have been prevented. Another aspect is that slavery was inevitable and that in a twisted way it made us better. With all these questions, and twisting of views one thing is for certain, it’s a part of our history, we are taught about it and it happened. It’s up to us to make sure we never get back to this “way of life” or the idea of slavery as normal.

Becoming a slave was terrible; someone was either born a slave or kidnapped. When slavery first started, white Europeans went into Africa and kidnapped African Americans. As the years went on this

Slavery was the most popular form of labor during the growth of American society. For many, this was all they knew despite being an inhumane way to live. Slavery caused physical and emotional damage to African Americans of this time. As society progressed many begin to realize how wrong this actually was. Even though there are many causes of the growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852, the main reasons were a changes in social morals, political ideas, and the mass production of anti-slavery newspapers,books, and posters.

Slavery has always been one of the most, if not the most, shocking phenomenons of our world. Slavery, by itself seems very unnatural and entices mixed feelings various different people especially in our country during the 1800s which had been divided into the north and south due to this controversial issue. In the north, for the most part, people had believed that slaves had the right to be free and slavery was unjust which is why it was abolished in 1804. This differed from the south in that generally, it was believed that the slaves were incapable of doing anything other than slavery and thus should be kept as they are that is until 1865 when the 13th amendment ended slavery in the south. Some people, however, are descendants of those who used to be slaves years ago. Some faced “slavery”, or forced labor that would classify as the equivalent of slavery, even in the contemporary times. While others simply do not understand the possibility of one human being considering another human being its slave. By definition, slavery is one of the first historical forms of exploitation, under which a slave becomes the private property of the slave owner. In other words slavery converts an individual human being into a “belonging”, if you could call it that. This phenomenon has done a lot of harm to millions of people, in that it takes away lives and destroys the fate of the people who could have otherwise been happy. It is common knowledge that slavery was

The life of a slave is incredibly difficult. It all depends on the master, some slaves had a decent life if their master was super kind to them. Sadly, many masters weren’t. They didn’t care that African Americans are human, all the saw was their skin color. At the time an African American was considered less than or “the help”. Everyday they would wake up early to do things for their master. Some cooked and cleaned, others worked in fields or on farms. They were auctioned off like some sort of item. Some masters

In an idealistic democratic America, one likes to think that everyone is free and everyone is equal. However, this is not the complete truth; we still battle injustice and work to treat everyone fairly every single day. But what is the truth is that we have come a long way and that we have improved over time. Slavery before the Civil War is important in U.S. history because not only was it involved in various significant events; it also shows us how far our society has come.

Slaves went through a lot of struggle to try and get their freedom. They would rebel, runaway, commit acts of arson but in the end only a war could settle the disagreement of slavery between the North and South (2). The final battle for the end of slavery or the approval of slavery depended on the Civil war: the Union against the Confederates. However, what happened to slaves during the Civil war? Well slaves were permitted to take part in the war. Slaves fought in both sides, over 179,00 African Americans were part of the Civil war serving in over 160 units (3). Since the beginning of the war they weren’t really permitted to fight in the war, even though they had fought in wars before that one, because of the 1792 law that restricted them

Slave punishments Many slave owner’s had many ways of punishing their slaves. If slaves would resist slavery, not working hard enough, talking too much or using their native language, stealing from his master, murder a white person, or trying to run away, the slave owner would punish their slaves. Some of the ways white slave owners used to punish their slaves were putting their slave in shackles and tying them to the ground, being whipped, and being hung and left to die.

During the Pre Civil War Era (1840’s), slavery of African American people was already existed. Throughout the country the concept of slavery was widespread to every state, but primarily slavery was located in the South. They were enslaved on farms, large plantation, inside homes, out in the fields, industry, transportation. These people are considered as a property, they were forced to be slaves because they were black. These slaves were forced to be property using violence and threat. The most common threat is that the slaves will be separated from their family, murdered or even put into an auction. Slaves were often followed by the constant fear of being sold to other masters. Majority of slaves in South worked and lived in cotton plantation where it employs number of slaves, possible hundred. The master didn’t provide decent bedding and clothing, they usually sleep in a barn that was non resistance to bad weather condition and diseases. The slaves that worked in plantation are easily prone to sickness due to the blistering heat, unsanitary condition, insufficient nutrition, lack of rest since they were constantly forced to work even when they are