Life, And Slave Life In The Life Of Slaves

This system is characterized by its brutality and inefficiency. Whereas under the task system, the slaves would be given certain tasks to complete for the day. Tasks were often measured in terms of an acre, additional on rice plantations in tidal floodplains, the work was divided into sections as sectioned by irrigation ditches. The slaves would work more efficiently to complete these tasks in order to enjoy the free time afforded to them by their masters. This system allowed slaves to work for their own benefit. They could hunt, fish and work their own plots, thereby improving their nutritional intake. Slaves could even sell surplus food in the local markets as well for a modest amount of profit.

Slavery in America started in 1619 when settlers brought over African Americans to Jamestown, Virginia. The slaves came to Jamestown to work on the tobacco plantations. The slaves were also sent to other colonies such as South Carolina to work on the cotton plantations. Slaves were people who worked for no pay. This caused the land owners to make more profit from their plantations because they didn’t have to pay their workers. Southern slave owners, specifically in South Carolina, relied on slavery as a major part of their economy.

Two societies, two regions, the north and the south had very different views on slavery and struggled to be on the same terms. Slavery was basically claiming human beings as property. Slavery was very crucial and accepted in the southern states. In the south, slavery was considered a necessity in order to maintain the agricultural economy of the entire region. The fertile soil and climate of the southern region made it ideal for large scale farms (plantations) and crops like tobacco and cotton. Slavery was a southerner’s way of life as economic growth stimulated from the ever-expanding system of staple crop production, notably cotton that depended on the labor of at most 4 million slaves. Slaveholders worked these African American slave’s days in and out on plantation farms growing crops mostly cotton that was also sold to the north! The southerners protested that slavery could not be eliminated without

Enslaved people were treated extremely harshly by Southern slave owners. Slaves were instructed to do heavy labor, and if they did not worth to their maximum ability they were cruelly treated with whippings, beatings, and they were sometimes even maimed. Slaves barely had enough food, clothing, and shelter to get through

Slave lives was hard for them because most families were taken away by their children and relatives. On chapter 9 page (433) "If a father or mother were sold away, an aunt, uncle, or close friend could raise the children left behind." Slaves would be miss treated how if a family member was sold to a different They would only get cloths once a year, and if their clothes would get ruin their family member could lend them cloths or they

In a quote from the book, Chains, it explains, “He grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly to my feet ‘I told you to move.’ Mr. Robert snarled at me”(Mr. Robert 6). This quote shows that there would be consequences in plantations because in it it explains that Mr. Robert a plantation owner pulled her roughly. Mr. Robert might not have gave Isabel, the main character, a big consequence, but he did hurt her in a way. A second place that a slave could have been is a small farm. Obviously a small farm was not a big property, but there were still slaves there. Slaves in small farms would help with the crops and when they were done they would have to sleep in a barn. The slaves wouldn’t really get punished, but they would be told things like when in the book it indicates, “You are slave, not a person” (Curzon 41). This showing that they don’t get punished, but called things because they don’t think of them as person. It might have been Curzon who said, but that was just how

Frederick Douglass' narrative reveals a lot about the work of the slaves. Some few slaves worked in the master's house, some more worked in the master's production huts around the farm, but most of them worked in the field under the watch of an overseer with a whip ready in hand. The slaves would be punished, sometimes very severely, if they weren't working early in the morning. They could also be punished if they didn't work fast enough or well enough. After a long day of work, they would have to go to their huts and do their own cooking and washing. They could only sleep a few hours a night after doing all the work they had to do. When they were finished with their work they would fall down on their beds and "sleep till they [were] summoned to the field by the driver's horn." (48) Looking at the slaves as property, the master wanted to use them as much as he could to get his money's value. He didn't think of them as human beings who had needs, but as machines

Slaves were always in the fields whether it was picking cotton, to producing tobacco they did everything. If the slaves ever messed up they would get beat, their owner would beat them and leave bruises, and scars on them. The owners were brutal they made the slaves get up early and go to bed very late. The slaves averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night. Slaves tried to escape and run away by getting to the Underground Railroad and hiding in houses but some of this was impossible to do.

In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson there are many scenes that take place and have many importance to it. Many of them describe where the slave lives or what they are doing there. In the book, Isabel has visited or lived through all of three main places. The three main places that the slaves live in or on are plantations, small farms, and cities. The plantations and small farms may seem alike but in different ways they are not.

Slaves in 1850 couldn’t do much with their lives. They could stay on their master’s plantation and do all sorts of extremely hard labor, get beaten, and experience what it is like to have family members sold away. Or they could try to escape. When a slave would try to run away he would normally have people sent, by his master, to hunt him down. If the slave was found he would most likely be killed; however, frequently all of the other slaves would have to watch him be executed and then later would be beaten or punished to make sure they would not make the same mistake.

This meant that slave labor was organised differently depending on what was growing. Working on sugar plantations was harsh, the planters would organize slaves around a gang system. The toughest work -planting, manuring, and cane-cutting- was given to the strongest and healthiest, the others that were less physically demanding tasks were handed to the less robust, younger or older slaves. Everybody was put to work, even the very young and the very old doing things like chasing away birds, cleaning, and guarding. Sugar plantation slaves worked very hard from very young to very old. Rice plantation, while still having their downfalls, were less harsh than the sugar plantations. Slaves could regulate their own pace of work and were given tasks whereas those in sugar plantations were not. The perk of coffee plantations were that they were at higher, more temperate locations. Laboring life was dictated by how long it took the crop to grow and harvest. Sugar took about six months whereas tobacco took eighteen

Slaves had no rights at all in the south. Many worked as servants and farm laborers. Some practiced skill trade as shoemaking and others worked on cotton plantations as field hands. Men and women did harsh backbreaking labor in the fields. They cleared new land, planted seeds, and harvested crops in all weather. Teenagers worked alongside the adults pulling weeds, picking insects off the crops and carrying water to the other workers. Some slaves became skilled workers such as blacksmiths and carpenters. Some slaves worked in cities but their earnings belonged to their owners. Planters often hired these skilled workers to work on their plantations. Older slaves like women worked as servants in the planter’s house. They cooked, cleaned and did other chores under the supervision of the planter’s wife.

slaves could nearly develop a kind of culture or society. The expansive number of slaves made supervision troublesome and chance for escaper were more prominent. On these huge homesteads, slaves were separated into various gatherings relying upon their work, for example, field-specialists or house hirelings. These last specified, were viewed as high in positioning. They had the advantage of keeping away from physically requesting work and ate better nourishment and were dressed better, be that as it may, they endured the practically steady perception of their proprietors. Female house workers were especially helpless against manhandle by indecent experts. Moreover, because of the huge measure of slaves causing an impersonalization of the general

Not only was slavery divided up into different systems, but the roles of the slaves varied greatly. Field slaves were subjected to strenuous labor and strict overseers. They usually worked from dusk until dawn without receiving a day off. On the other hand, household slaves took care of the children, chores, and food and were sometimes seen as part of the family. There is a misconception that household slaves had an easier life than those working in the fields. However, regardless of whether or not someone was a household slave or a field slave, they were slaves nonetheless. The documentary fuels these misconceptions by making things seem right that Washington only worked his slaves six days a week, giving them Sunday off, and was known to have treated them well.

The dynamic of the relationships between slaves and their master was one which was designed to undermine and demean the slave. The master exercised complete authority and dominion over his slaves and