If black men and women are no more than animals a slave owner might find justification in their treating their “property” (46) as desired (164). Therefore, slaves were forced to endure inhumane living conditions, public beatings, and lack of essentials such as food. (103). Slave owners further instilled this by depriving slaves of education (140). Doing so guaranteed more control over their slaves.
As a result of the slaves working different jobs, there was a sort of class system between slaves. If a slave worked in the owners house they would normally get better food, be treated better, and sometimes gain better living quarters. These slaves are called domestic slaves and are considered to be “higher” up on the class system. Even though a slave could have a good owner, they might have to face bad living conditions if their owner was unsuccessful. Every slave's life depended on whether their master was poor, nice, successful, fair, and the jobs they gave
Poor slaveholders were looked down on and did things such as getting female slaves just to breed them. They knew the slaves getting pregnant and having kids would enhance their wealth. Whether they were poor or wealthy, slaveholders were malicious towards the slave. Slaves were beaten, tortured and
According to James Ramsey, the treatment and conditions of slaves in 1784 were harsh. They had to work long hours, from four in the morning to midnight, only eating 2 meals a day while doing harsh and intense labor everyday. (Doc 1) The source shows us that the slaves were treated harshly and did long, hard hours of work for the English while getting little to nothing in return. The slaves couldn’t even fight for themselves, they were helpless against the “superior” English. According to Olaudah Equiano, a slave, explains the harsh things the slaves have to go through, stating, “... for slaves to be branded with the initial letters of their master’s name.” He goes on to state that the slaves are beat all the time for no reason, and are chained most of the time.
According to the Abolition Project, “Slavery refers to a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. It had previously existed throughout history, in many times and in most places.” Enslaved blacks have been resilient people; despite the various efforts such as slave laws taken to restrain them, they resisted slavery through the rebellion of non-violent schemes towards their Slave masters. An Enslaved black would often be referred to as a human being who was made to be a slave either through birth, contract or trade for purposes such as planation or domestic drudgery. Slave masters implemented slave laws for the restriction of their slaves on the lodging grounds. These slave laws
The culture and practices of their time avoided them any critical analysis of their status in the society. In fact, even when slaves started revolts and violent riots, there actions where only confined to that single occasion. Overall, there was no bigger picture in their eyes on the brutality of slavery. The conditions and the cultural understanding of that time were so clear-cut and strong on the idea of blackness and slavery, that most slaves probably even believed that they were racially inferior to the white master and that their role in the society was to serve. Mostly because the wonderful ideas of civil disobedience brought by Rosa Parks in 1955 where far from the slaves in the plantations, who lived centuries before the declaration of human rights and the abolition of slavery.
Beaten for whatever reason just to enforce upon them who was in charge and what would not be tolerated, and at times beaten for no reason at all as this was slavery. In 1860 15 states had a population of 12 million, and of that one-third were slaves, and 2% were free African Americans. One in particular was once a former slave who eventually became free and educated and sought out to speak on the injustice of slavery. As Frederick Douglas spoke of his injustice in being sold as a slave and all he endured one can only imagine. In his speeches and writings he highlighted the torture slaves endured.
Some may say this because masters in the South saw their slaves as an investment, which makes prefect sense. If the slaves missed a few days working on the plantation because of illness or what the case maybe that resulted in revenue loss. Whereas the North had many other alternatives to making revenue, such as mills and other manufacturing companies; the South basically depending on slaves to have income and to support their
Slavery’s Role in Modernization As a result of modernization, the rapidly growing industries depend on more manufacturing companies to sustain their needs, even if it means slavery has a major contribution in mass productions. Just like African American slaves from 18th century America (referred as African American slaves here), slaves in modern day Asian countries (referred as slaves in Asia here) suffer from living in horrid conditions that provide a lack of basic human necessities. African American slaves were used to pick cotton and tobacco leaves, whereas Asian slaves are used in manufacturing companies. However, the supplied labor from both types of slaves contributes to the benefit of their superior. Asian slaves are brutally punished
Slavery in the American South Slaves in the American South longed for freedom, fair treatment, and better lives. Slaves were not treated fairly and dealt with many hardships in their daily lives. Life was not easy for slaves and one way that made life difficult was physical pain. One slave named Fredrick Douglass was sent to be with a slave breaker and slave-breaker means someone who would try to destroy the slave’s soul. As it states above slaves were sent to slave-breakers and so this is one of the struggle they had to go through in their life is getting their souls broke down.