Jordan Plantation Artifacts

Scattered along many of Louisiana’s rivers and bayous are majestic, historical homes built during a time of Southern prosperity. In the South, these homes and surrounding property often called plantations, were the product of middle to upper class slave-owning planters. Central Louisiana is home to a plantation that is “the oldest standing structure” in this area. During a recent visit to Kent House Plantation, I learned of the history, operations, and current events that help to keep the past alive.

Slavery dates back to the seventeenth century, when they were brought by ship from Africa to America. Plantation owners has indentured servants from Europe, who was serving time for their actions, and slaves from Africa. There was a prevalent development of degrading treatment towards African slaves and the institution of slavery as a whole in the time period of 1607- 1750 in Virginia which can be seen by slaves getting taken advantage of, children being taken away or runaway ads and also not receiving the same basic human rights as other individuals .

” For many, the economic structure of slavery still held strong and it established status in British America. Slavery had begun in the later half of the 17th century and in many ways, it had made Atlantic commerce and overseas settlement possible. Thousands of Africans had been shipped overseas to work in the fields of staple crops. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, high concentrations of slaves remained in the southern colonies where they continued to labour on cotton and tobacco plantations. Of the thirteen colonies, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas held the highest concentrations of slaves. In 1775, it is estimated that of the 2.5 million people living in the thirteen colonies, 500,000 were blacks. The vast majority of these blacks were slaves, with many labouring for their masters under harsh conditions. Although their experiences were difficult, blacks rarely revolted or staged rebellions against their masters. This has often been associated with the plantation system, and the role it played in severing blacks’ ties to one another. As highlighted by historian Silvia Frey, “The North American plantation organization, with the dominating presence of the master, inhibited the development of the tribal cohesiveness that characterized the islands’ plantation organization and produced widespread violence against whites by black guerrilla bands.” However, despite the absence of any significant

At first Africans were not slaves but servants. Anthony Johnson is an example of African servant who acquired lands and servants (even white servants) after he managed to become free. Due to development of famers in America tobacco in particular settlers needed more labors, and since lands were limited and most of former indentured servants were not able to receive a land, so they were did not want to go back to work, settlers saw African as a good opportunity for cheap labors. Since Africans were not England citizen, they had no rights to claims, as a result, settlers were able to work them for their whole life. Slavery became profitable especially in Virginia, soon rules were made to make slavery legal, and took away any rights that slaves had. Based on the documentary, for a Virginia plantation it was more profitable to work a slave to death and buy a new slave than let slaves to work in a humane condition. Another reason for development of racial slavery was Englishmen projected slaves as aliens and inferior, as Blight stated “as an outsider”, in different factors such as: color, religion, and

The charter and plantation generations happened over two different centuries and it begins with the arrival of Atlantic creoles in the Chesapeake. The date? The seventeenth century. During this time, creoles were engrossed in the Atlantic world and became familiar with English customs and ways of life. Berlin introduces us to the story of Anthony Johnson, a slave in Jamestown who had the benefits of farming independently, and was able to marry and baptize his children. He then later gained his freedom, became a farmer with his own slaves, sued his neighbor for sheltering a runaway and won his case in court. This is an example that Berlin uses to explore farming and economic practices and conditions within Virginia. During this time, Black slaves (who had English customs) and white indentured servants worked together on

Last but not least, completed in 1859, Redcliffe Plantation was once the home of James Henry Hammond, and many of his decedents. Redcliffe Plantation interprets the history of many generations and multiple families that were enslaved at Redcliffe and other plantations. Visitors get to experience African American history whenever they please being that Redcliffe is open year round (Introduction).

Slavery is an association of authority and respect where one individual, the plantation owner, owns another individual, the slave. The owner can command the individual to various jobs around the plantation. Slaves were brought from Africa to work in the home, babysit plantation owner 's kids, and the most popular , to work on farms. Women were more common for working in the owner 's homes and watching after the owner 's kids. Where men were more likely to work on farms picking cotton. Slavery was serious and diminishing towards the African American race. Punishment toward slaves included numerous gruesome activities such as being whipped. Slaves had no legal rights. Slaves could not own property, vote, or have control over their family. There was so much expected from slaves to keep the plantation running like it needed too. Without slaves the South would not

By 1790 slavery was on the decline in America. Apart from tobacco, rice, and a special strain of cotton that could be grown only in very few places, the South really had no money crop to export. Tobacco was a land waster, depleting the soil within very few years. Land was so cheap that tobacco planters never bothered to reclaim the soil by crop rotation -- they simply found new land farther west. The other crops -- rice, indigo, corn, and some wheat -- made for no great wealth. Slaves cost something, not only to buy but to maintain, and some Southern planters thought that conditions had reached a point where a slave's labor no longer paid for his care. Eli Whitney came to the south in 1793, conveniently enough, during the time when

The conditions for slaves in the 1730’s were abhorrent. Slaves were not seen as people and had little to no basic human rights. The Africans brought in for slavery were treated like cattle, and were herded towards farms and plantations where they would spend the rest of their days working for their owners. Slaves could not travel, meet in groups, grow their own food, or hunt game. If they wanted to participate in any of these activities they had to do them in secret. The slaves became tired of being mistreated by the white southern slave owners, which eventually led them to start uprisings and rebellions like the Stono Rebellion.

The crops grown on plantations and the slavery system changed significantly between 1800-1860. In the early 1800s, plantation owners grew a variety of crops – cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, hemp, and wheat. Cotton had the potential to be profitable, but there was wasn’t much area where cotton could be grown. However, the invention of the cotton gin changed this - the cotton gin was a machine that made it much easier to separate the seeds from cotton. Plantation owners could now grow lots of cotton; this would make them a lot of money. As a result, slavery became more important because the demand for cotton was high worldwide. By 1860, cotton was the main export of the south. The invention of the cotton gin and high demand for cotton changed

The population was majority black-slaves and with the downfall in the tobacco industry, plantation owners relied on them to become their own indentured servants.

The former slaves considered landowning a large part of freedom, plus they needed territory to plant and crop. White landowners replaced slavery with sharecropping, where the sharecropper borrowed a share of the landowner’s crop and cared for and harvested the crop. The landowner will provide housing for their sharecropper; in return the sharecropper would pay back the amount borrowed plus payment for borrowing, which would leave the sharecropper in more debt. This gave landowners an advantage over their sharecroppers because it made a steady workforce because they were still in poverty and had to repeat the cycle until the sharecropper had enough money to work on his own. This caused a long cycle of poverty for former slaves and poor white

The transportation, market, and communications revolutions of the early nineteenth century changed the livelihood of the citizens in American society. These changes were supported by both the government and the business leaders who wanted the American society to develop economically. In what became known as the American system, these leaders worked to implement a national bank, protective tariffs, as well as improved transportation and communication sectors. The changes that were implemented led to various technological advances and also brought about a different way to conduct business practices. Before changes were made to the economy, the American society was not as productive.

Hugh Craft travelled from Georgia to Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1839. In 1851, Craft rebuilt the main house, but kept the original slave dwelling structure that dates to the early 19th century The slave dwelling, still standing, was used as a detached kitchen from the early 19th century up until possibly the Great Depression or later. According to a United States census record, during the 1860s Craft owned nine slaves; two adult females, ages 28 and 25, five male slaves, ages 16, 15, 9, 3, and one age not legible, and two female children, ages 12 and 64. Hugh Craft owned higher than the average urban slave dwelling, usually having 1-3 slaves . A 1850s United States census record shows that the Craft family included Hugh Craft,

Racism in Mississippi was still strong at this time. Parchman was thought of as a well-organized slave plantation that would not raise African Americans intelligence or their morality, but it could teach them proper discipline, strong work habits, and respect for white authority.(110) Although, there were some white males in the prison, they were still segregated by race. While most African American’s did work in the fields, whites with particularly useful skills hoped for jobs as carpenters, mechanics, truck drivers, maintenance men or “dog boys.” Otherwise, the whites performed the same tasks and the same routine as African Americans. (162) The women’s camp at Parchman was also segregated by race. The blacks lived in a long shed-like structure, while the whites lived in a small brick building with a high fence in-between. Very few white women ever spent time at Parchman. It was said, “It is a fortunate thing for Mississippi that white women seldom indulge in serious crime.” (174) In