Slavery Dbq

In the mid nineteenth, slavery was the debate of the century. In determining the effects of slavery to the southern economy we can understand that there was a growing gap between the white working force and the aristocrats of the south. The poor workers of the Chesapeake were viewed so poorly in their class system that they were more related to their african american slave counterparts than those who had a higher status in their economy. These two cultures of white and non-white workers formed important identities that shaped their way of life in the south. The effects of race, gender, geography, and class all played a role in what was seen as different or similar to these two groups.

Race and class decided most people's lives in the 1800’s

economy. If you were born in the United States as either poor or african american you were put at a considerable disadvantage when trying to lead a successful life. Take Frederic Douglas as example, he was born as a slave and fated to be a slave working for his owners for the majority of his life. Because of Douglas’s race he didn't have much of an options, “Death soon ended what little we could have while she lived...She died when I was about seven years old…I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial,” as a slave, Frederic could not be have very many freedoms and was often restrained from many opportunities that normal white child would have (Douglas 1). A black person was often seen as property. He could not go where he pleased and certainly could not quit his life as a slave. This is drastically different from the white settlers of this time. A poor southerner who also did back breaking labor still had options, though they may have done similar work, they supported the slave system in hopes of one day obtaining one. This is what separates the poor southerners and slaves, the white workers, “Thus did the logic of economics join with the illogic of racism in buttressing the slave system,” this means that they were racist and in this time period were called ‘White Trash’(Kennedy 356). Race and class had defined the country at the time. Social status among whites were important and drew differences among white and non-white workers. The color of one's skin in the mid nineteenth century determined how society would treat you.
Your gender and location at this time determine what line of work you may pursue.

Your location whether it be north or south, determined how many rights you had. If you had been located south as a slave you would have to endure much more labor, such as picking cotton for hours a day. The south was based around slavery and it showed in how their economy was ran, “In their eyes ‘Cotton was King,’ the gin was his throne, and the black bondsmen were his henchmen,” this quote shows how vital slavery was to their way of life. Their society in the south was based on agriculture and was reflected by it with the population of slaves present in the south at this time. Woman were also affected by location, if they were in the south, then they often worked out in the fields. If they were up north, then they had more of a chance of being a housemaid over the grueling work of gathering cotton. Besides that fact, being a man or a woman meant little if you were a slave, you were still a worker in their eyes. Women of the lighter toned ethnicities did not have nearly as much rights as a man, but gained more freedoms throughout the 1800’s. They began acquiring more jobs such as working in factories to start earning wages. The woman of this time period struggled and if you were a slave also, it only added to the turmoil a runaway slave, Harriet Jacobs, explains how even she needs her own freedoms as a human, “Who can blame slaves for being cunning? They are constantly compelled to resort to it. It is the only weapon of the weak and oppressed against the strength of their tyrants,” This helps show that african american women are also ambitious to have their own rights and freedoms as the rest of the slaves. Your location and your gender helped prove that women and men held different jobs based on their geography. Not only that, but your way of life as an african american was determined by your geography and the line of work you took was also influenced by your

gender.
Working in the United States had many variables that impacted how you lived your life and your place among society. Your gender put you in as a maid or in the fields if you were a slave and depending on your locations as a woman, you could either be in a factory or picking cotton. Comparing an aristcrat in the south to a poor southern farmer is a far cry, and your social status as a slave was almost non-existent. A white worker and a non-white worker lived in almost different worlds. As a slave you would hope to be placed up north were conditions were better versus a white worker who could have choose their own path to follow. Workers in the nineteenth century were influenced by their economy to put lasting identities from what their gender, geography, race, a social status.