Slavery in the American South Essay - 1809 Words

Slavery in the South Slavery was a big part of life in the South. Many plantation owners relied on slaves and their work to help get the money and crops they needed. There were two types of slaves in the South at this time. There were house slaves and there were field slaves. House slaves consisted of servants, maids, and butlers. They were normally treated better than the field slaves (Biel 14). They got to be inside most of the time. Owners of house slaves would usually not beat them because they wanted the slaves to look presentable for whatever guests arrived or stopped by. With house slaves, the owner’s family enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle (Biel 14). These houses were normally extremely elegant. Some house slaves had the luxury†¦show more content†¦Almost as important as the managerial force was the â€Å"head driver†, a trusted and responsible slave, who acted under the overseer as a kind of foremen (Williams, Current, and Friedel 494). The head driver was normally a prior lo ng time slave who could be trusted to help get the work done that needed to be done. There were two methods of appointing jobs to field slaves for the owners. One method was the gang system. Under this method, the slaves were simply divided into groups, each of which was directed by a driver, and were worked for as many hours as the overseer considered a reasonable workday (Williams, Current, Friedel 494). This gang method was found in regions growing tobacco and cotton (Stewert 22). The other method was the task system. Here a slave was allotted a particular task in the morning, say to hoe one acre; When he completed his job, he was free for the rest of the day (Williams, Current, and Friedel 494). Many of the slaves would use this time to tend their own crops, which they used to supplement their diets, and if there was a surplus, to sell to other slaves or local traders (Stewert 22). This was a good time for the slaves to finish what they needed to be done. Most slaves, however, w ould not be given this opportunity because most plantation owners would see this as a waste of time. The treatment of slaves was terrible, especially for the field slaves. Between six andShow MoreRelatedEssay Slavery in the American South616 Words   |  3 PagesSlavery is a form of forced free labor in which one human being is the property of another. Close to two million slaves were brought to the American South from African and the West Indies during the Atlantic slave trade. The American South accounted for over 20% African Americans. As late as 1900, 9 out of every 10 African Americans lived in the South. Slavery supported the economic structure for the planter aristocracy. 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