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American slavery in the 1800s
History of slavery in america
American slavery in the 1800s
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Life for the typical American slave in south was brutal, working from sun up to sundown. Each state or community had slave codes, since slaves were thought of as property. The living conditions for slaves were bleak, often living in shacks with many others. Having a family as a slave was a gamble, many families were split up and sold. Slaves that worked on farms and plantations worked from the first light and until last light at night. For most after tending to crops, there was wood to be chopped or water to be carried. Many were worked as if they were machines and not people. Many were beat if they did not meet quotas, or if they made any mistakes. Each colony had a set of standards or slave codes that were to be adhered. Which allowed slaves
Being a slave in the North and South were very different. The Northern states had factories and small farms, so most of the slave did house work. The Southern states had big plantations and needed slaves to pick the cotton so their masters can make their
Following the success of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas in the early16th century, the Spaniards, French and Europeans alike made it their number one priority to sail the open seas of the Atlantic with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new territory. Once there, they immediately fell in love the land, the Americas would be the one place in the world where a poor man would be able to come and create a wealthy living for himself despite his upbringing. Its rich grounds were perfect for farming popular crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. However, there was only one problem; it would require an abundant amount of manpower to work these vast lands but the funding for these farming projects was very scarce in fact it was just about nonexistent. In order to combat this issue commoners back in Europe developed a system of trade, the Triangle Trade, a trade route that began in Europe and ended in the Americas. Ships leaving Europe first stopped in West Africa where they traded weapons, metal, liquor, and cloth in exchange for captives that were imprisoned as a result of war. The ships then traveled to America, where the slaves themselves were exchanged for goods such as, sugar, rum and salt. The ships returned home loaded with products popular with the European people, and ready to begin their journey again.
Slavery in America was a terrible thing, but no one knows about the laws that went along with slavery called slave codes. Slave codes were laws that were designated by each southern slave state (including Delaware even though it is considered a northern state) that were to be followed by slaves and their owners. Slave codes were closely associated with black codes. Black codes were in place for the free black people living in America, which was after the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Slave codes were laws that were inhumane and were in favor of the white slave owners. Slave codes were also the foundation of the Jim Crow laws of the south which furthered the oppression of black people.
Between 1800 and 1860 slavery in the American South had become a ‘peculiar institution’ during these times. Although it may have seemed that the worst was over when it came to slavery, it had just begun. The time gap within 1800 and 1860 had slavery at an all time high from what it looks like. As soon as the cotton production had become a long staple trade source it gave more reason for slavery to exist. Varieties of slavery were instituted as well, especially once international slave trading was banned in America after 1808, they had to think of a way to keep it going – which they did. Nonetheless, slavery in the American South had never declined; it may have just come to a halt for a long while, but during this time between 1800 and 1860, it shows it could have been at an all time high.
Slave trading was very traumatic for the slaves, being separated from the only thing they knew. Some lived on plantations under a watchful eye, and others worked right beside their owners. Slaves on large plantations usually worked in gangs, and there were better positions to work than others. Some gangs were separated into groups of lighter workers, consisting of men and women. Other gangs weren't so lucky and were assigned to hard labor.
Throughout this course we learned about slavery and it's effects on our country and on African Americans. Slavery and racism is prevalent throughout the Americas before during and after Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Some people say that Jefferson did not really help stop any of the slavery in the United States. I feel very differently and I will explain why throughout this essay. Throughout this essay I will be explaining how views of race were changed in the United States after the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, and how the events of the Jeffersonian Era set the stage for race relations for the nineteenth century.
Slavery as it existed in America was a practice founded on the chattel principle. Slaves were treated as human chattel to be traded, sold, used, and ranked not among beings, but among things, as an article of property to the owner or possessor.
Slavery in the eighteenth century was worst for African Americans. Observers of slaves suggested that slave characteristics like: clumsiness, untidiness, littleness, destructiveness, and inability to learn the white people were “better.” Despite white society's belief that slaves were nothing more than laborers when in fact they were a part of an elaborate and well defined social structure that gave them identity and sustained them in their silent protest.
Slave jobs in New England were to do mainly house work by taking care of all household chores.
Slavery was created in pre-revolutionary America at the start of the seventeenth century. By the time of the Revolution, slavery had undergone drastic changes and was nothing at all what it was like when it was started. In fact the beginning of slavery did not even start with the enslavement of African Americans. Not only did the people who were enslaved change, but the treatment of slaves and the culture that each generation lived in, changed as well.
There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited rights, and were allowed to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slave kids that were born while they were enslaved were not considered to be slaves, but to be free under the law. Indentured Servants helped the colonies increase their population.
Slavery as a Cruel Institution Cruelty can be defined as an inhumane action done to an individual or group of people that causes either physical or mental harm. Slavery, at its very core, was a cruel and inhumane institution. From the idea behind it to the way that it was enforced, it degraded the lives of human beings and forbade the basic liberties that every man deserves under the Constitution of the United States. Three major areas where cruelty was especially prevalent were in the slaves working conditions, living conditions, and loss of fundamental freedoms. Working conditions for slaves were about as bad as can possibly be imagined. Slaves worked from dawn till dusk and sometimes even longer. Solomon Northrup describes his experience as a slave on his Louisiana plantation: The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning and with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night (Northrup 15). The slaves lived in constant fear of punishment while at work, and it was that fear that drove them to obey. Northrup continues to say that, "No matter how fatigued and weary he may be…a slave never approaches the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear.
Thousands of men would leave their wife’s and children behind to go to war. Some women would also go to war being nurses or spies. A lot of families also worked very hard just to survive while their husbands were off to war. The women had to find jobs or work the farm to support the family. Life at home for children was also very rough. Many of the children that were not eighteen years old would still join the army as drummer boys or bugle boys. The young children also helped around the camps by doing chores. The children that were eighteen became soldiers on the battlefields. Slaves during the civil war did anything they were told to do. Most of them worked in the fields all day from sunrise to sunset. Their only days off were on Sundays and holidays. There diet supplied by the slave owners was also very poor. They were not given any meat or fish. The slaves were also not given any good clothes to work in. It was also very hard to create a family because of the living conditions. They lived in huts and small shelters and slept on the dirt floors. Along with the food and living conditions, their health was very poor because they were not given good
By 1860, nearly 3,950,528 slaves resided in the United States (1860 census). Contrary to popular belief, not all slaves worked in hot and humid fields. Some slaves worked as skilled laborers in cities or towns. The slaves belonged to different social or slave classes depending on their location. The treatment of the slaves was also a variable that changed greatly, depending on the following locations: city, town or rural. Although all slaves were products of racial views, their living conditions, education, and exposure to ideas differed greatly depending on their social classes and if they lived in a rural or urban setting.
Slaves would take on the tasks of motherhood, some would even breast feed the babies. The slaves also worked the fields and helped the mother with other household duties, such as making clothes (The Study of Women, online). Education Boys will begin school at age seven. They were also given paid agogos, a slave that accompanied them everywhere. The paid adolescents taught the boy manners, punished him when he did wrong, and even sat through classes with the boy to make sure he did his work.