James Henry Hammond's Progression

1.In 1831, James Henry Hammond inherited through marriage Silver Bluff Plantation, on the shores of South Carolina. He was a Lawyer, Teacher and a Newspaper editor. He undertook the running of his plantation and soon realized it was not an easy job to overcome the dominance of the complexity of social system that existed. He struggled to control and manage it for the next thirty years. He called a “a system of roguery. “Hammond astutely recognized that black life on his plantation was structured and organized as a “system “, the very existence of which seemed necessarily a challenge to his absolute control and therefore, as he perceived it a kind of “roguery.” Because Hammond’s mastery over his bondsmen depended upon his success at undermining slave society and culture, he established a carefully designed plan of physical

and psychological domination in hopes of destroying the foundations of black Solidarity”. (Source 1) Hammond tried to assert legitimate dominance, his slaves strived to maintain autonomous cultural and personal community communication networks. Hammond controlled black religious lives by replacing independent black worship with entire devotions under white priests. Hammond tried first with white churches by making black churches unavailable, forbade his neighbors to build one. He tried itinerant ministers for Sunday slave services. In 1845, a Methodist church was built on the plantation, named after Hammond’s wife St. Catherine.
2. Hammond strived hard to establish white standards amongst his slaves. Hammond knew the decorous behavior within St. Catherine’s was compliance to his directives. He was unsuccessful for eradication of black religious worship expression and independent beliefs. “Hammond recorded in his plantation diary,” Have ordered all church meetings to be broken up except at the church with a White preacher”. Hammond’s slaves had over the preceding decades tested their master’s initial resolve, quietly asserting their right to their own religious life in face of his attempt to deny to them “. (Source 1) this constant struggle tested the strength and ingenuity of both the master and his slaves, everything from work, religion to health to unauthorized absences from plantation. Several slaves extended their Christmas holidays and declined to returns to work. The slaves clearly preferred Task System, which provided more independent time while Hammond feared it’s autonomy to slaves.
3. Hammond worked hard to manage and structure his slaves to white supremacy as their master Hammond ruled and controlled his slaves through rewards system. Rewards could be rations of sugar, coffee or tobacco, furlough and Christmas breaks to break them into submission where work was concerned. Both he and his slaves came to accommodate, each other. There was no differentiation between a female and male slaves. They were treated alike, even pregnant female slave was not spared of labor. Patter-roller’s (patrols) were the worst. They could enter any time of the day or night, did what they pleased, steal, beat, violated their wives and daughters. If they resisted gave 39 lashes for each offense or resistance. He built St. Catherine’s named after his wife. Even visitors admired the slave’s piety. “a house guest on the plantation in the 1860’s found the services at St. Catherine’s “solemn and impressive”, she felt to Hammond’s benevolent control over his slaves”. (source1)
4.

“For decades Hammond’s slaves were quietly asserting their right to their own religious life in face of his attempts to deny it to them”. (Source-1) Power struggle and conflict for religious autonomy to supervising slaves work patterns was Hammond’s goal to achieve. He thought they were unregulated, undisciplined for long before he took over his plantation Silver Bluff. Hammond was strict and unyielding, punished slaves when they were lazy, whipping and flogging them when they did not shop to work. It seemed instead of mastering over them, he manipulated then with positive inducements like work competitions, like picking contests, diligent hands and arranged barbeques, Christmas, food ratios. The slaves used these privileges as baits to their advantage as their dues, whenever they felt the need and thus too manipulated their master, Hammond too. This kind of arrangement became typical pattern between Hammond and his slaves. “While Hammond sought to assert both dominance and legitimacy, the slave’s T Silver Bluff strove to maintain networks of communication and community as the bases of their personal and cultural autonomy”.

(Source1)