Life under slavery was harsh, and during the mid-1800s, it was the main way of living in the South. Unlike the North, the South had very few industries, but made up for this with plantations. They then gained wealth by using slavery as they pleased, but under slavery, African- Americans were treated brutally. Under this kind of treatment, slaves made many ways to endure this pain and even sometimes then rebel.
Life in slavery was not just harsh because of the countless hours they had to be working with little or no pay, but there was also a constant fear of families and loved ones being separated or killed. At any time, a slave could have been sold to a "different owner, or a slaveholder’s death could lead to the breakup of an enslaved family"(433). With the fear of being separated, extended families were formed within slaves so that if parents and their children would be separated when sold, aunts, uncles, or close family friends would raise the children in substitution of the parents.
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Resisting slavery was a very daily thing for slaves, but it was almost never harmful. Those who were enslaved had their own way of resisting or rebelling and " For the most part enslaved people resisted slavery by working slowly or by pretending to be ill"(437). Armed rebellions and up rises were rare but did occur. These up rises often didn't occur because African-Americans living in the south knew that they only lose if they had an armed rebellion. They knew this because of slave codes, laws that the Southern states had to control slaves, would only get even more cruel after an uprising. For example, an armed uprising which occurred in 1831 known as Turner's rebellion "that resulted in the death of at least 55 whites" (435), then ended with the leader, Nat Turner, to be hanged and slave codes became
Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.
Slavery also known as the "Peculiar Institution" was a way of life in the South. Under slavery, African-Americans were treated brutally. Life for slaves involved resistance and survival. They had to keep themselves safe and protected along with their families.
Slaves weren't treated like people, they were treated more like property. In document 2 it is said that they would be sold at auctions and their families were often torn apart from different slaveowners buying them. This was often the case for many enslaved people. This is where extended families became important. If a slave's mother was sent somewhere else to work, her "extended family" (like her sister, grandmother, or friends) would take care of her children for her.
Slavery was an important economic factor, in the South, from colonial time through the early years of the United States to the end of the Civil War. The methods used by the slaveholder, who owned large scale plantations, in the south were harsh on the slave. Slaves were viewed as material properties used for to be used for economic gain. One large scale plantation owner named John R. Williams wrote to another slave , in a letter, "...Africans do seem to be made to be slaves. Their coarse manners and slow wits show that they need outlet guidance..."1* Masters would do what was necessary to keep the slave obedient and productive. This meant slaves that misbehaved would be physically punished, lose privileges, or maybe even sold, separating them from their families. For these reasons slave often didn 't misbehave, but tension that builds up will be released in often violent ways. This is the reason for frequent slave revolts. The these revolts were often led by a person or a group of people. They would gather the unhappy slaves and lead them to rebel.
Life in the South depended on slavery or what could be known as the "Peculiar Institution". The slaves' conditions were horrible, and they were treated brutally. As a slave, family and friends could be the only way you find happiness, but that happiness could end at any time. Slaves were mistreated in every way and they sometimes went to measures to resist slavery. Although, slaves resisted slavery in many ways, they could only be free by escaping and leaving the plantation.
On January 1, 1863, the final order of the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, declaring the freedom of slaves in rebellious states. Obviously, this did not physically free anyone, but it was an effective military strategy during the Civil War on behalf of President Abraham Lincoln to help accomplish his most fundamental goal: to preserve the union. He knew that the occupation of slave labor was one of the greatest advantages of the Southern war effort, so being able to revoke as much of those reinforcements would be an aid for the Union, as did the rising enlistment of African American Union Soldiers. This secured Northern victory over the Confederacy for sure, and even though the abolition of slavery simply piggybacked on what was truly
Slavery was a way of life in the South for African-Americans. It was a form of discipline and cruelty to the slaves. Life for slaves consisted of resistance and durability. Although slavery was horrible, some slaves managed to escape their terrible life and did it with success, while others couldn't unfortunately and had to suffer the consequences from their master. Slave families dealt with the fear of being separated, the only way slaves could be separated is by the husband or wife being sold to a different owner or a slaveholder's death could result into the breakup of an enslaved family.
Although African Americans extol the accomplishment of granted liberties, later consciousness of increased lack of survival in a free environment withered the souls that starvation and death, disease and hunger overtook the black nation. Without suitable malnutrition thralls’ immune systems became weaken; in addition to, famine causes the body incapability to function properly intensifies the possibilities of gradually dying. (West, 2013) “Many newly freed blacks had believed that the benevolent government that had freed them would provide each family with ‘forty acres and a mule’ so they could start life anew.” (Tolman, 2013) The former slaves were dependent on society to contribute profoundly as their ancestors provided unto the slavery
Enslaved African Americans were treated like animals in the south, without any rights, received no pay for their long hours of daily work, could not have a day off unless their master allowed them to therefore they were very irritated, angry, rebellious, and attacked their masters for this. This is why the African Americans fled up north early before all blacks were granted
Slavery is a stain in the history of the United States that will always be particularly remembered for the cruelty it exhibited. Up until 1865 slaves were imported in shiploads and treated as if they were merely cattle. On the farms slaves were given no mercy and had to work long, arduous days for nothing. Additionally they were often subject to cruel overseers who would beat and whip them on a regular basis. As brutal and destructive as the institution of slavery was, slaves were not defenseless victims. Through their families, and religion, as well as more direct forms of resistance, Africans-Americans resisted the debilitating effects of slavery and created a vital culture supportive of human dignity.
The difficulties of slavery describes the hardships the slaves went through. Two difficulties they went through were horrible treatment and severe consequences if they escaped.
The living conditions for slaves in the United States depended on the slave, the owner, and where they were located. Most of the time is just depended on the owner and how he treated his slaves, how hard he made them work and how he felt about them.
There are many different forms of slavery still in practice today like military service, domestic servitude, and many more. About 27 million to 45.8 million people are still being owned by another human being. But none could be as terrible and cruel than forced and child labor. 21 million out of the 27 million slaves are victims of forced labor. In many second-world and third-world countries like India, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, etc still own majority of slaves today. Everyday on average around the world 3 in every 1,000 people are forced into labor. India is the highest at 14.3 million slaves, India also has the second largest population in the world just only a few million behind China. 70% of all enslaved people live in only 10 countries.
I decided to talk about Slavery and why it was a big issue. Most slaves were African American and were usually sold as an object. African Americans were treated differently because of their skin color and didn’t have the same respect that the white people had. African Americans weren’t usually respected and were sold to people as property and treated like property.
One connection that I made was that I reminded me of slavery, and how kids were also put to work. Another aspect of slavery, it reminded me of the abuse that would be administered to the workers. One may think that minors in labor would have stopped but I know cases of around the world that minors are put to work. In the case of my family, my dad only went up to 2nd grade and he started to work on a plantation. I remember when he told us that he had to grow up quick because in his opinion he had to grow up. He had to go to work in order to help support his family. I think that it is sad to grow up and miss out on learning opportunities. I remember growing up I would wonder why my dad never wrote or read out loud in Spanish. Now I know it is