Slavery3 Essay Example For Students

Slavery3 Essay A person who is held in bondage to another; one who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who is held as possession; one who has no freedom, but who is and services are wholly under the control of another, this is the definition of a typical slave. What comes to your mind when you hear the word slave? What do most people picture in their head when they hear the word Slave? Most people automatically see different color when the word slave is mentioned. People in this society dont recognize or acknowledge people for who they are, but what they do. Stereotyping is just in peoples nature, it is easier to label some one by class, than by strength of character. Stereotyping, is how people describe each other. A Seven-Eleven owner is automatically Indian, a Mexican must be a gang member, a rich black person is for sure a drug dealer, a Persian must own a gas station, and the list goes on and on. For the same reason, when people hear the word slave, they picture a big, muscular, char coal colored African, working in a field somewhere in the south under the control of a white man. Slaves and slavery has been around for ages, way before America was founded. But a new form of slavery emerged with the discovery of the New World. There is many different aspects slavery, and each of these topics had its own effect on the history. Womens role in slavery, Plantation slavery and the Underground Railroad are a few topics that are extremely important in the history of slavery. What role did women play throughout the years? Slave families had a tendency to be unstable, due to the nature of the institution of slavery. Masters could sell members of the family away if they desired, or could separate the family on the plantation, making them work in different areas. Despite this instability, the family tended to be a central part of a slaves life, it gave them something to hold on to. Women played a significant role in the development of this family. Slave owners often did not differentiate between genders on the field, and thus the women often ended up working alongside men in fieldwork. However, within the slave community, there was a difference. The men usually did the chores such as trapping and hunting animals for food, while the women did more of the domestic duties. While these domestic duties tended to add more work to the slave womens day, the domestic work was a way for women to rebel against the master to a degree. Women did these work to keep themse lves and their families healthy, and would on occasion help a runaway slave by providing for him or her. These responsibilities were in some ways a joy to slave women, since they offered a degree of personal fulfillment. One slave women, Mary Colquitt, remarked that her grandmother and mother had often stayed up late sewing clothes for the children, saying, Dey done it cause dey wanted to. Dey wuz working for deyselves den.(Jones,29) Ironically, this work caring for themselves and their families also benefited the slave owners, since healthy slaves meant that the masters could get more work out of them, and thus make more money when the crops were harvested. The family was important to most slave women, and they had ways of making sure that they stayed together, though these werent foolproof. A women assigned to the Big House when the rest of her family was on the fields could rebel, thus making a mistresss life miserable by literally doing nothing. This would often cause the mistress to send the women to the fields, which is what she wanted anyway, so she could be with her family. (25) Another way a young women slave could make it possible for herself to stay with her family was by getting pregnant at an early age. Masters refrained from the selling of women that demonstrated fertility, because they would be able to get larger labor force from these women. Also, slave families with young children were more likely to be kept together. In these ways, women gained some control over keeping their families together as a unit. Women slaves also represented an authority figure within their families and communities. Wives were often able to pro voke otherwise non-aggressive husbands into acts of rebellion against the master. In addition, mothers often educated their children, teaching them how to sew or do other household chores that they would need to be able to do for their families. Elder women often held important positions within the community as well. These women often learned herbal medicine, and were viewed as the doctors , which was especially important since the white doctor did not visit often. Ned Chaney said of his Granny Silla, Everbody set a heap of sto by her. I reckon, because she done cumullated so much knowledge an because her head were so white.(40-41). Female slaves understandably did not want their children to become slaves, if it was possible at all to avoid it. Thus many women tried to escape with their children. Some felt that theyd rather kill their children than have them become slaves. A good example of this is Margaret Garner. She and her husband and children escaped with a group of other slaves in the winter of 1856, when the Ohio River was frozen over. They made it to the other side of the river (into freedom), but there their pursuers caught up with them. When it became evident to Margaret that they would not remain free, she attempted to kill her children and herself. She slit the throat of her little daughter, but was restrained before she could complete the task. She was then returned to her master, after a Commissioner decided that she was still legally a slave, but she drowned in a Not only did the women fall victim to slavery, but also the African men who were shipwreck while being sent back to Kentucky. Not only did the women fall victim to slavery, but also the African men were shipped over from their mother country to work the fields of the New World. The warm climate, boundless fields of fertile soil, long growing seasons, and numerous waterways provided favorable conditions for farming plantations in the South (Foster 63). The richness of the South depended on the productivity of the plantations (Katz 3). With the invention of the cotton gin, expansion of the country occurred. This called for the spread of slavery (Foster 64). Their white owners controlled slaves, owned by one in four families, from birth to death. Black men, women, and children toiled in the fields and houses under horrible conditions (Katz 3-5). The slave system attempted to destroy black family structure and take away human dignity (Starobin, 101). Slaves led a hard life on the Southern plantations. Most slaves were brought from Africa, either kidnapped or sold by their tribes to slave catchers for violating a tribal command. Some were even traded for tobacco, sugar, and other useful products (Cowan and Maguire 58). Those not killed or lucky enough to escape the slave-catching raids were chained together (Foster 64). The slaves had no understanding of what was happening to them. They were from different tribes and of different speaking languages. Most captured blacks had never seen the white skinned foreigners who came on long, strange boats to journey them across the ocean. They would never see their families or native lands again. These unfortunate people were shackled and crammed tightly into the holds of ships for weeks. Some refused to eat and others committed suicide by jumping overboard (Foster 63). The Crucible Essay OutlineBy 1807, a law was passed to make it illegal to import anymore slaves. Agricultural improvements came along, and with the limited number of slaves left in the states, the value of the slaves went up very quickly. Abolition Societies began to form, and along with religious groups became active in helping slaves to freedom (AFRO). The Railroad began to take shape. A shape that is to this day very hard to describe. Tracks were laid to aid the slaves to freedom. People talked in secrecy to make safe paths for the slaves to run on. These were the tracks. Letters were sent that had terminology or code for the blacks. A lot of the terms come from things found along railroads. This is because real railroads at this time were the newest thing and happened to be the topic of choice for conversation. This made it all the easier for the helpers of the railroad to communicate going unnoticed. Along the tracks, there were depots, safe houses to stay. These were houses of free whites or blacks where they could hide when they werent running. The people who owned the houses were often called conductors. The conductors often left a number of signs for the slaves to follow so they didnt go to houses that belonged to allies of the slave owners. A quilt on the clothesline depicting a house with smoke coming out of the chimney was a sign of a safe station. A white ring of bricks around the top of a houses chimney was another sign of a good hiding spot. Shops that were safe often had a silhouette of a fleeing man or woman on in sign. Other signs were used to guide the slaves. There were knocks that slaves used when approaching a house, animal calls, and lights hung in windows. When a slave was moving to the next house along the railroad, this was called catching the next train (AFRO). There were also songs that gave directions to slaves that were taught to everyone so that they mig ht memorize the way. One such, was Follow the Drinking Gourd The drinking gourd was the slaves terminology for the big dipper. The Big Dippers handle points to the north star, which they could use to find their way north. The song gave landmarks along the way to follow and a verse from it says, the dead trees will show you the way (AFRO). This was put in the song for a reason. The writer of this song, referred to as Peg-leg Joe, drew a picture of a peg legg on the dead trees along the track with charcoal. The following verse is Left foot, peg foot traveling on, accordingly (AfRO). The tracks for the railroad werent exactly laid. A slave had many possible directions to run in, but the main idea here was safety over quickness. The slaves often zigzagged in their paths to avoid being caught. There were different forms of fleeing as well as different paths. Slaves could travel by water on boats. Often in one of the many clever disguises fabricated by the people of the North willing to lend a hand. Men were dressed as women, women were dressed as men, and slaves clothes were exchanged for those of a rich free person of colors to confuse the true identity of the slave when seen by curious eyes. There were also some slaves that traveled the road, by foot, in a carriage, or in a wagon often containing a fake bottom making a tiny space where slaves could safely journey to freedom. Some traveled on surface lines the actual railroads of this time. Lightly colored slaves were dressed as whites, and others were put in with the luggage and freight. And yet daring others traveled as baggage. Such a person was Henry Box Brown who received his nickname by making the long trip in a box marked this side up, and fragile. There are, however, reports from Henry, after he reached the end of the line (AFRO), where he testified being turned upside down and was thrown about, which makes us all wonder what goes on with our mail service. In the end, slaves had to find a way to blend with the people of the North so that they might live their lives free. Some of the escaped fugitives met up with previously escaped friends and family and formed communities. Others found a haven in the Native Americans with whom they intermarried and reproduced. The civil war began and others found shelter with the Union Army. The slaves soon found out that freedom did not mean freedom from work, but they were happier because they now made their own decisions. Some died from exposure, after not finding shelter from the Norths frozen winter. Most slaves were not allowed to learn to read and remained illiterate. Their not being able to read or understand the fact that they had money of their own often lead cruel salesmen and employers to take advantage of the blacks. Those who learned to do specific jobs in the South often took up similar jobs in the North. The need for the railroad slowly began to decrease, as the fight for abolishment gr ew stronger. It was no longer necessary for the railroad to be, since almost all the slaves who were going to run already had. The final motion that brought the railroad to its final stop was the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln. These were three of the main events of the slave trade in the New World. We are all better off now that slavery is abolished. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. (Thomas Jefferson qtd. in Starobin 53). Equal we are, only because these men, women and children gave their lives for us. It was not their choice, but we should all be thankful. Bibliography: