Transcript Chapter 10 Lesson 2 Life on the Plantation

Chapter 10 Lesson 2
Life on the Plantation
The Slave South
Most Southerners did not own large
plantations.
 Of the 50,000 plantations in the South in
1860, only 2300 were owned by planters
who held more than 100 slaves.
 Most Southern farmers owned small farms
and did not hold slaves.
 Allowed owners of large plantations to run
the government.

Slave-Owning Population (1850)
Slave-Owning Families (1850)
Tara – Plantation Reality or Myth?
Hollywood’s Version?
A Real Georgia Plantation
Master of the Land
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The plantation was self-contained.
The master was the head of the plantation.
They took the law into their own hands and
would “settle” disputes by duels.
Some taught slaves Christianity-made slaves go
to Sunday services but they sat in their own
special sections.
Hired white overseers to supervise work in the
fields.
Some used trusted slaves as drivers or
supervisors to keep the pace up.
The plantation mistress was only second to her
husband in authority.
Life in the Big House
A
visible sign of the planters wealth.
 Two or three storied mansions.
 Fine furniture, paintings
Large Plantation in Louisiana
Let’s take a tour of a real Plantation
http://www.lattaplantation.org/vtours/
index.shtml
http://www.sherwoodforest.org/index.
html
The Slave Community
Slave Life
House slaves and drivers were set apart
from the rest of the slave community.
They had better food and clothing than field
hands.
-may be separated from family members or
have to whip other slaves.
House slaves
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House slaves worked for people in there homes.
House slaves were usually treated better than
field slaves. House slaves would usually work as
servants or do house work.They would get extra
food, clothes, etc.
<<<Field Slaves>>>
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Field slaves would
usually work
outside in the
fields.Fields
weren’t treated as
well as house
slaves.They would
do all the outside
work.
What were
conditions like on
the plantations?
Life on a Cotton Plantation
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Solomon Northup was a free African
American who was kidnapped and sold
into slavery:
“The workers are required to be in the
cotton fields as soon as it is light in the
morning. They are only given 10 or 15
minutes at noon to swallow some cold
bacon. They are then not allowed to rest
until it is too dark to see. When the moon
is full, they often work until the middle of
Working day
5:30 – go straight to field. Work until
8.00am. Latecomers whipped
 8:00 – Stop work for breakfast: boiled
yam & okra seasoned with salt & pepper
 8:30 - Continue work
 12:00 pm – Rest & lunch: salted meat or
pickled fish
 2:00pm – Start work again
 6:00pm – Return to huts
 Night time – During harvest, work in mill
or boilings houses through night
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What Slaves Ate and Wore
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The slaves main diet
was 1 pound of meat,
1 pound of bread, and
1 pound of vegetables
a day.
Some slaves didn’t eat
anything
They were allowed to
wear one pair of
pants,a jacket with a
beige shirt and a pair
of shoes.Some slaves
wore hats.
The Southern “Belle”
Slaves posing
in front of
their cabin on
a Southern
plantation.
The Culture of Slavery
1. Black Christianity [Baptists or Methodists]:
* more emotional worship services.
* negro spirituals.
2. “Pidgin” or Gullah languages.
3. Nuclear family with extended kin links,
where possible.
4. Importance of music in their lives. [esp.
spirituals].
Slave Culture
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Strengthened their sense of identity by carefully
preserving the African cultures heritage.
Couldn’t marry-performed adopted African
culture ceremonies such as “jumping the broom,”
when a couple is united in the eyes of the slave
community.
Gave support and helped them resist and
struggle against their condition.
Had two names: English and African name used
among other slaves.
During the Great Awakening and The Second
Great Awakening, many became Christian.
Slave Culture
Christianity-combination of African and
American Protestantism.
 Used natural and herbal cures.
 Preserved African musical traditions.
 Slave work songs and spirituals combined
African and American hymns. Ragtime,
Jazz and Dixieland
 Folktales-like “Brer Rabbit” (who out wits
his enemy) stood for the dream of beating
slavery.
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Learning to Survive
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To deal with the
horror of family
members being
sold, everyone
took part in caring
for children.
All the slaves
acted as mothers
or fathers to the
young.
Punishments
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Rebellions – rebels
nailed to ground, fire
applied starting at the
feet and moving
upwards
Running away – neck
ring or iron muzzle
Continued running
away – removal of
hand or foot
Flogging – one lash
for each year of
slave’s life
How old do you think this slave
was? Average life expectancy was 26.
Why do you think it was so low?
How Slaves Were Treated
Slaves were
beaten, bound in
chains, or starved
for even doing
small things such
as talking back or
working slowly.
 Runaways were
caught received
beatings so severe
that many died.
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Resistance to Slavery
Passive Resistance
*Slave songs-express longing to be free and
spread news of secret meetings.
*Pretended to be sick
*Broke tools
*Worked as slow as possible
*Ran away-knew they would get caught but
temporarily deprived the owner of labor.
*Ran away to be with family members.
1.
“Steal away, steal away,
Steal away to Jesus.
Steal away, steal away home.”
Revolts
 Most
slaves did not revolt and
planters claimed they ruled their
slaves generously.
 Slaveholders were a minority but
convinced millions of white
Southerners to support slavery.
Slave Resistance
1. “SAMBO” pattern of behavior used as a
charade in front of whites [the innocent,
laughing black man caricature – bulging
eyes, thick lips, big smile, etc.].
Slave Resistance
2. Refusal to work hard.
3. Isolated acts of sabotage.
4. Escape via the Underground Railroad.
Slave Rebellions Throughout the Americas
Quilt Patterns as Secret Messages
The Monkey Wrench pattern, on the left,
alerted escapees to gather up tools and
prepare to flee; the Drunkard Path
design, on the right, warned escapees not
to follow a straight route.
Slave Rebellions
 Knowledge
of plants might tempt a
house slave to poison the master’s
food-caused widespread fear.
 Most feared-organized violent
rebellion by a number of slaves.
 Three main slave rebellions.
 Gabriel
Prosser-a black preacher and
blacksmith had been freed and was
plotting a general slave uprising. (in
Virginia in 1800)
He was betrayed by a slave and he
was hanged with 35 others.
Denmark Vesey
 1822-a
Denmark Vesey, a free black
carpenter in Charleston, South
Carolina planted to lead a rebellion in
July of 14-the anniversary of the
French Revolution.
 He was betrayed by a slave and
executed with 35 other black men
and 37 more were deported from the
city.
Slave Rebellions
in the Antebellum South
Gabriel Prosser
1800
1822
Nat Turner
 1831,
Southampton, Virginia
 A slave preacher led 70 black men in
an uprising.
 Before the 3 day revolt was put
down, 57 white people were killed.
 Put white southerners in a panic.
 It was several weeks before Turner
was caught, tried, and executed.
A Slave Family
Slave Rebellions in the Antebellum South:
Nat Turner, 1831
The Ledger of John White
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Matilda Selby, 9, $400.00 sold to Mr.
Covington, St. Louis, $425.00
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Brooks Selby, 19, $750.00 Left at Home –
Crazy
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Fred McAfee, 22, $800.00 Sold to Pepidal,
Donaldsonville, $1200.00
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Howard Barnett, 25, $750.00 Ranaway. Sold
out of jail, $540.00
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Harriett Barnett, 17, $550.00 Sold to
Davenport and Jones, Lafourche, $900.00
How They Became Slaves
Slaves were
brought in chains
from ships.
 They were sold to
many plantation
owners.
 More than 1000
slaves were
auctioned.
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How were slaves prepared for
auction?
Washed with water
 Rubbed with oil
 Gunpowder, hot tar
or rust rubbed into
wounds
 Teeth inspected
 Brutal remedies,
e.g. for diarrhoea
 Two methods of
sale
– auction &
What does this C19th poster tell us about the
scramble
way slaves were treated by plantation owners?
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What sort of lives did they lead?
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How would you feel if you were branded
with one of these irons?
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Branded on face,
chest or back
3-4 year-olds work in
‘trash gangs’
(weeding)
9-12 year-olds work in
fields with adults
Elderly worked as
domestic servants
No legal rights –
forbidden to read,
write, marry own
property
Flogging & other
punishments
Slave Auction Notice, 1823
Marriage & Children
>Slave owners
encouraged there slaves
to get married.
>Slave owners also
encouraged there slave
owners to have babies
because the death rate
was high and babies
was a way they can
replace there deaths.
Slave owners promise
there slaves freedom id
they 4 or 5 children.
Slave Auction: Charleston, SC-1856
Slave Accoutrements
Slave Master
Brands
Slave muzzle
Anti-Slave Pamphlet
Slave Accoutrements
Slave leg irons
Slave shoes
Slave tag, SC
Primary Source:Harriet Jacobs
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“
I saw mother lead 7
Children to the auction
block. She knew that some
of them would be taken
away from her; but they
took all. The children were
sold to a slave trader. She
begged the trader to tell her
where he intended to take
them, but he didn’t. She
wrung her hands in anguish
and exclaimed “ Gone! All
gone! Why don’t God kill
me? “ I had no words where
with to comfort her.
Instances of this kind are of
daily, yea, of hourly
occurrence.”
US Laws Regarding Slavery
1. U. S. Constitution:
* 3/5s compromise [I.2]
* fugitive slave clause [IV.2]
2. 1793  Fugitive Slave Act.
3. 1850  stronger Fugitive Slave Act.
Southern Slavery--> An Aberration?
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1780s: 1st antislavery society created in Phila.
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By 1804: slavery eliminated from last
northern state.
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1807: the legal termination of the slave
trade, enforced by the Royal Navy.
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1820s: newly indep. Republics of Central &
So. America declared their slaves free.
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1833: slavery abolished throughout the British
Empire.
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1844: slavery abolished in the Fr. colonies.
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1861: the serfs of Russia were emancipated.
Slavery Was Less Efficient
in the U. S. than Elsewhere
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High cost of keeping slaves from
escaping.
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GOAL  raise the “exit cost.”
u
Slave patrols.
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Southern Black Codes.
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Cut off a toe or a foot.
Runaway Slave Ads