INTRODUCTION

          By the early 1800’s the North had become more interested in technology and industry while the South remained agricultural.  The upper southern areas still grew tobacco, hemp, wheat and vegetables, while the Deep South grew primarily cotton, and in some areas rice and sugar.  With Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, came the increased ability to effectively produce more cotton, and hence there was an increased demand for slave labor.  Cotton production was labor intensive, making slavery it seemed, an economic necessity in the South.  In 1680 slaves were less than one tenth of the total southern population.  By 1810 there were about 1.1 million, and in 1860 over 3.9 million.

 

The South had a varied population.  Large plantation owners typically had several thousand acres of land and lived in comfortable, but not luxurious houses.  They depended on slave labor to make huge profits.  Slaves were bought and sold like property; in fact a person’s wealth was partially determined by how many slaves he had ownership of.  Most of them owned 10 or fewer slaves.  Yeomen owned perhaps 50 – 200 acres of land and grew crops for their own use, and to trade to local merchants for goods.  The southern poor lived in crude cabins and etched out their living by clearing a little land to raise corn and a cow or hog. They would supplement their substance by hunting or fishing.  They were looked down on by others, but were proudly independent.  (Ruth S.)

          Because slavery had become such an integral part of the South's economy and society, slave trading was also very important.  (Next section:  Slave Trading)

SLAVE TRADING

          In 1808 the United States made slave trading illegal, forbidding its citizens to partake in the international slave trade.  Plantation owners in America continued to see slavery as an economic necessity ("Africa, empires and," 2002).  They were able to make more money selling slaves than using them on the sugar plantations as the consumption of sugar dropped.

          Many of the states were divided in to pro-and anti-slavery states.  There was a debate in Congress as to how to divide the newly acquired territories into slave and free states.  The Compromise of 1820 was an agreement between both factions regulating slavery in the western territories.  Under this compromise slavery was prohibited in the new states north of the border of Arkansas territory, excluding Missouri.  Constitutionally the 1820 compromise had no right to impose on a state seeking admission to the Union conditions that did not apply to those states already in the Union ("1800s-1850s: expansion of," 2008).

In 1850 another Compromise was made.  California was a free state and New Mexico and Utah territories would decide whether they would be a free or slave when applying for statehood.  At this time the Fugitive Slave Act was also passed.  The federal government was responsible for apprehending fugitive slaves in the North and sending them back to the South ("1800s-1850s: expansion of," 2008).

Dred Scott was born into slavery and when he was older was sold to a military surgeon.  He traveled around the country with the surgeon, mostly in free states.  Mr. Scott and his family were similar in that they both had families.  When Mr. Scott’s owner died he sued his owner’s widow for his freedom.  His case eventually made it before the Supreme Court.

          On March 6th, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the majority opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case.  Seven of the nine justices agreed that Dred Scott should remain a slave, but Taney did not stop there.  He also ruled that as a slave, Dred Scott was not a citizen of the United States, and therefore had no right to bring suit Chief Justice Roger B. Taney in the federal courts on any matter.  In addition, he declared that Scott had never been free, due to the fact that slaves were personal property; thus the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional, and the Federal Government had no right to prohibit slavery in the new territories.  The court appeared to be sanctioning slavery under the terms of the Constitution itself, and saying that slavery could not be outlawed or restricted within the United States.  The American public reacted very strongly to the Dred Scott Decision.  Antislavery groups feared that slavery would spread unchecked.  The new Republican Party, founded in 1854 to prohibit the spread of slavery, renewed their fight to gain control of the Congress and the courts.  Their well-planned political campaign of 1860, coupled with divisive issues which split the Democratic Party, led to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and South Carolina's secession from the Union.  The Dred Scott Decision moved the country to the brink of Civil War ("The Dred Scott,").  (Jennifer S.)
           Despite leading to debates and conflicts, slave trading and slave labor was essential to plantation owners because it made their lifestyle possible.  (Next section:  Life in the Manor)

LIFE IN THE MANOR

     

     On the plantation, there is usually a home located in the center of surrounding buildings called a “big house.” It is usually a mansion on a large estate that “instantly conveys an image of greatness, authority and success with their impressive façade, gardens and formal white columns”.  The main living quarters are usually surrounded by numerous buildings, each with their own special purpose. The buildings closest to the house were usually the kitchen, the store house and sometimes a smokehouse. Other buildings that surround the main quarters vary depending on the type of crops raised on the plantation. For example, if sugar is raised on the plantation, a refinery is built to hold the sugar. Then, of course, the living quarters of the slaves, which consisted of small living quarters arranged in a small town type setting.

     The main home was built for the master of the plantation, his wife, children and some of his slaves.  The master had the authority to do as he pleased without answering to anyone. He dominated over the wife who was considered virtuous, obedient, and completely dependent on the husband. The wife was expected to be graceful and delicate, refined and charming. This was not always an easy role for a woman to play.  The wife’s role was to manage the care of her children. Most children in the mansion attended their own private boarding schools, were taught to read and right and studied art.  The wife was also responsible for managing the slaves that worked in the home. Her role was to assign tasks, oversee their work and punish them when she found fault in their work.

     It is evident by the duties and responsibilities given to the wife of the manor, women did not live a leisure life. While the husband could come and go from the plantation whenever he pleased, the wife was given the task of maintaining a well-organized home.  (Peggy R.)  (Next section:  Women on the Plantation)

WOMEN ON THE PLANTATION

 Women on the plantation had a very specific role that allowed no deviation.  From childhood, each and every female was groomed and molded to successfully fulfill their role in adulthood.  This stringent role was initiated once the female was married, which generally occurred in the mid to late teens.

Once married, the “plantation mistresses” (women of the plantation) were to uphold the sanctity of marriage by remaining submissive to their husbands.  Plantation mistresses were to exemplify excellence according to society’s standards.  This included pristine etiquette, social charm, and grace.  Women were expected to exude femininity.  Plantation mistresses were required to obey their husbands, the plantation masters.  Even though the women of the plantation held a higher social status than the slaves, the expectations varied only minimally.

     The women of the plantation were required to manage the inner workings of the house, dairy, and the henhouse.  The women supervised and delegated daily tasks to the slaves that worked in these areas.  In addition to the housework, the women of the plantation were responsible for childbearing and child rearing.  The masters of the plantation expected their offspring to be nurtured and well educated, as in society’s eyes this was a direct reflection of the master.  Women of the plantation often worked daily from dawn until after dusk.  

Even though leisure time was minimal, plantation women enjoyed reading, writing, spending time with other plantation mistresses, and attending church.  However, women of the plantation were not allowed to leave the plantation without the blessing of the master (their husband) and escorted by a chaperone.  Therefore, many women were isolated to the plantation.  (Tiffany C.)
       Life in the manor for the plantation owners, their wives and families may not have been a life of leisure, but it was vastly different from the lives that the slaves led.  This is evident from even the quarters the slaves were given to live in.  (Next section:  Life in the Slave Quarters).

LIFE IN THE SLAVE QUARTERS

Slave Quarters, at the Hermitage

 plantation, Chatham County, Georgia

were separated one by one and were too small for comfort.

         Most of the plantations usually consisted of a "big house", which was where the owner of the plantation lived, and a few hundred yards away was where the Slave Quarters were.  The placement of the Quarters was great enough for privacy but close enough for the whites to easily access it.  Also the Slave Quarters helped the slaves in many ways.  In the Slave Quarters, the slaves had shelter to protect them, privacy to plan and communicate, freedom away from their masters, and opportunity to develop an African community.

Inside a common one room slave quarter, there was

hardly any furniture. There was one clothesline

to dry the few clothing items that the slaves had.

The floor was made up of beaten earth. Also each

Quarter had a fireplace to heat up the room and to

cook food.

             Each Slave Quarter was made up of a one-room small building with a fireplace.  Most of the Quarters were scarcely furnished and usually consisted of one bed or a small table for eating and preparing food.  The fireplace in the Quarters helped the slaves keep warm and cook the food their masters gave them called "rations".  Most of the food came not from the master but from the men and children that farmed and gathered their own food.  Also the men had to hunt and fish for their food.

          In the Quarters the slaves practiced their African heritage and beliefs.  Most of the slaves expressed themselves through music, dance, and religious practice.  While living in the Slave Quarters, slaves used their "expressing music" to hide messages and to communicate in the fields while the master watched over them.  This way they knew what they were talking about while the master had no clue.

          Overall life in the Slave Quarters was mainly a privilege for the slaves that lived there. They had the privacy they needed to practice their beliefs and to continue their culture. Also they could develop their small African community and arrange their events/celebrations. Even though the Slave Quarters were too small for comfort, they still provided shelter and few freedoms.  (Noman H.)
          The kind of life that the slaves led is further revealed by looking into the way children were treated and lifestyle they knew.  (Next section:  Children)

CHILDREN

             Most children on plantations were illegitimate children of the slaveowners.  Because slaveowners did not view sexual encounters with the slave women as acts of infidelity, sexual abuse and rape were commonplace, and the women would often conceive. (“Interesting Facts about Slavery and Equality”)  Pregnant women would remain overworked until giving birth, and the excessive labor often contributed to the women’s miscarriages.  In the event the woman had the child, she would either go back to work with the child on her back, or have the elderly watch over if there were elderly present.  (“Daily Life of a Plantation Slave”)

            The slaveowners were reluctant to claim the children as their own, so they were often beaten by their biological fathers and brothers.  Some slaveowners viewed this act as conflictual, and traded their illegitimate children.  This was conflictual mainly because slaveowners did not like to think of slaves as humans, they were property.  This was their way of rationalizing the absence of the civil liberties that whites get. (“Interesting Facts about Slavery and Equality”)

          

           If the child’s mother was a slave, that child was automatically a slave.  (“Daily Life of a Plantation Slave”) From birth to six years of age, children would stay home and play.  Upon turning six, they were immediately given duties and were clothed in long shirts.  Some of the common responsibilities from age six to 10 were carrying water, gathering wheat and wood, picking up stones, and picking bugs off plants.  From ages 10 to 12 they became active weeders.  (“Pathways to Freedom: Maryland & the Underground Railroad” and “Antebellum Slavery”)  As soon as they reached 12 years of age, they were given the same work as adults.  They did not have the opportunity to go to school to learn how to read and write. (“Pathways to Freedom: Maryland & the Underground Railroad”)  (Summer M.)
          The labor that was required of slave children from this young age only continued to grow and become more intense and demanding as they approached adulthood.  (Next section:  Labor - the Role of the Slaves)

LABOR - THE ROLE OF THE SLAVES

     In the beginning, most of the slaves brought over to America were indentured servants.  Indentured servitude of made of three classes.  The first class was made up willing participants who came over to escape the poverty of their homelands.  The second class was made up of unwilling participants who were typically kidnapped from their homelands.  The third and final class was convicted criminals sent to the Americas to serve out their sentences.  In most instances indentured servitude lasted for a period of seven years after which point they were able to purchase their freedom.  As the colonies began to grow and flourish the second class, servants kidnapped from their homeland, became more prominent.  This was the beginnings of slavery, one of the darkest periods in American history.   Most were unskilled agriculture field hands and domestic servants.  They were responsible for building homes and cultivating fields.  Males were brought over first due to their strength and used for heavy labor such as plowing.  Women were initially brought over as company for the male slave force, but were later viewed as a valuable asset for her domestic skills and lighter field labor such as hoeing and picking.  The female slave eventually added value for her master due to her breeding potential.  (Edith W.)
         The slaves had very little freedom, were abused, and performed back-breaking labor day after day.  Maybe the only thing that gave them hope and strength to get through each day was their religion. (Next section:  Religion)