What Was The Role Of Domestic Slaves During The Civil War

Slavery has long inspired controversy among historians. Many have different views on slavery whether it was slaves lived under kind masters, or slavery was a brutal system that drove slaves into constant rebellion, but neither viewpoint is accurate although both contain some truth in it. Many masters wanted to earn profit off of slaves no matter what because some masters were kind causing the slaves to develop genuine affection for their owners. Although slaves had affection for owners they did not even question themselves when deciding to desert to Union lines when northern troops descended on the plantations during the Civil War. The experience of slaves working on cotton plantations in the 1830s and 1700s differed because of reasons unrelated to the kindness or brutality of masters. More of reasons like the plantation system, the work and discipline, the slave family, and the longevity, health, and diet of slaves.

The majority of the slaves were employed in agricultural areas in the South. By the mid-19th century, a large number of slaves worked in urban areas as well, and about 5% worked in more industrial occupations. The hours of the slave workers were long. The average life expectancy of African slaves was at least 12% lower than whit Americans in 1850 and the infant mortality rate was 25% higher for slaves. Oftentimes slave marriages and families dissolved due to separation. This concept is horrible when you take under consideration that family was the entire basis of African culture.

Fogel and Engerman´s ¨The Quality of Slave Labor and Racism¨ explains the economics behind slavery and which methods produced the most accurate and efficient results. Fogel and Engerman explained that one of the most important technological advances within the agricultural sector of the South after 1800 was in the realm of management, particularly in the “development of organizational methods which permitted southern planters to capture the potential benefits of economies of large scale operation.” (Fogel 278). On the plantations everything was setup to produce the best results, it was said it was organized as in a factory. Everybody was assigned to a certain tasks, that would keep him busy throughout the year. The various hands on a plantation were set up in gangs or teams which consisted of five different

Slavery in colonial America was a hard way of life. Slaves varied in ages and gender. Slaves were assigned a task or tasks that had to be completed during the day. The male slaves would participate in the hard labor such as working on the farm. The female slaves would generally work in the household, sent on errands or spent most of their time with the house owner. Female slaves were forced into sexual relationships for reproduction. Reproduction would either be forced between one African slave and another or between the slave and the house owner. Slaves were also treated like livestock and being bought, sold and traded among owners. For the enslaved people they had to endure being separated from their families when captured or when sold at the slave market. Their new

Unlike wage workers, Slaves were severely punished for disobeying their owners. Slaves didn’t have the same freedom as wage workers. Slave labor was worse than wage labor because slave labor was more intense and harder then wage labor. Slaves laborers were punished

The life of a slave was harsh to say the least. They worked long hours from dusk to dawn, most of them laboring in the hot southern cotton or tobacco fields. They were often separated from their family members and suffered harsh punishments when their masters felt they did wrong. But, after the Civil War ended, the slaves were left with hope that they would be free and have the same rights and opportunities that the white men had. Unfortunately, it would take decades for them to see true freedom.

On the plantations, slave labor was the primary source of workers. These slaves were brought to the colonies by ship, once they arrived they were sold at auctions. The slave auctions had just men, just women, just children or whole families up for bid. Southern plantations were predominantly black, male slaves. At one point it was believed to be seven male slaves to every one female. The slaves were purchased and then became the property of the

First, a slave is someone who gets treated really bad. You either get hit or have to work a lot. In plantation you have to work hard every day in the morning, afternoon, and later in the evening. All ages have to work really hard even if they are the elderly people or little kids. Although working in plantations was a challenge, working in farms wasn't as bad.

There is a class division that separates yeomen farmers and poor whites that came to sometimes became overseers of slave plantations. Poor whites are considered low on the social hierarchy in the South. Jobs of the Overseers meant that they control slaves and overlook how slaves work. If slaves are not productive they can get beat by these overseers. Masters often did not want to be over the punishment of the slaves. Overseers will whip a slave if they did not keep in

Women were treated differently than men in each region. In the South, slaves had the same demands regarding their work and the same hours (from sun to sun, that is long hours and large work), no matter their sex. However, in the North, women had less demanding jobs and also worked less hours than men.

that treatment, and the conditions that lead to resistance by the slaves working in their various

Slaves were not usually treated with respect in the households they worked in, most of the time, slaves were treated horribly. They would be raped, beaten, teased, whipped, and were victims of many cruel and unusual punishments that are unimaginable to the human race present day. Family was the most important thing to the African culture. Brothers tried their hardest to look over their younger sisters as best as possible. Old women and men with no family members to turn to, looked to the comfort of nieces, nephews, and cousins when they fell ill, and aunts and uncles played a primary part in the family as well. Men were not the only ones that were forced to take part in daily labor and routines but also women and children. Some slaves were assigned outside work in which they would tend the crops and more commonly known work the plantations on their masters estate. Women were more commonly assigned to kitchen work such as cleaning the houses, washing clothes, cooking meals, working as servants, and tending to the masters each and every need. Most women who worked in the houses were brutally raped by their masters whether or not they were married to a man or not. Although most women worked in a home setting, there were some women who did work outside with the men and children. Work was difficult on the slaves and their masters were not empathetic towards them in

Under this system, each slave is assigned a specific task to complete and after that task is been achieved the slave is held free to do as they wish with the rest of the time, unlike the gang systems which forced the slaves to work until the master decides and allow them to rest. Whether plantation owners organized their slaves on the task or gang system had much to do with the type of crops they harvested. the task system was used where extensive supervision was unnecessary and was commonly used in the Coffee farms and rice, which lead planters to favor the task system on their plantation. (Davis, 2006.

The slave’s life depended on their owners. Most owners treated their slaves well by making sure they had decent food, clean houses, and warm clothes to wear. Other planters spent little time caring about these things. They were determining to get the most work possible from their slaves. Slaves worked from sunup to sundown, at least sixteen hours a day. They sometimes suffered whippings and other cruel punishments. Owners thought of them as valuable property, that way the owners wanted to keep their human property healthy and as productive as they can. Keeping slaves families together was very difficult to do because slaves were considered as

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.