Uncovering The Control Tactics Used Against Enslaved Women During The Civil War

Finni Padgitt

MC202

Petrie

April 18th 2023

The Intersection of Gender and Slavery: Uncovering the Control Tactics Used Against Enslaved Women During the Civil War

Slavery: the evil and barbaric institution that took place during the Civil War. For women, the horrors of slavery were particularly brutal, as they were subjected to unspeakable acts of violence, degradation, and exploitation. Black women were treated as commodities to male slave owners and objects of hatred and jealousy for female slave owners. They were stripped of their humanity, robbed of their freedom, and subjected to unimaginable pain and suffering. They were physically, psychologically, and sexually abused and forced to endure the most inhumane conditions imaginable.

Many would like to think that sisterhood overpowered the separation of race and class, but from the journals of slave women it is evident that this was not always the case. Again, the lack of evidence and data relating to slave women results in historians and scholars having to presume a lot about what happened during this time. In Incidents in the life of a slave girl the mistress-slave dynamic is illustrated through Mrs. Flint’s disdain towards young slave girl Harriet. “I would rather drudge out my life on a cotton plantation, till the grave opened to give me rest, than to live with an unprincipled master and a jealous mistress.” (Jacobs 29) The phenomenon of a ‘jealous mistress’ was woven into the fabric of the female slave

Typically, female slaves had roles in caregiving and raising the children of the plantation owners, this motherly relationship gave women the opportunity to conquer the divide between black and white. While there are cases of this happening, since black women were viewed as property, not as human, this relationship could be disregarded (West, 58) (Jacobs, 1). Often slave masters raised children that were the same age as their slaves, (these children often were half siblings as a result of the masters rape of female slaves) this means that the women grew up together and were given the opportunity to form strong relationships, however with their growth the two women would face very different fates. Slave masters “granted them (young slaves) the role of “playmate” to young white children. Some former slaves had fond memories of childhood friendships with young whites. Millie Sampson recalled playing with white children and learning new words from them. But these friendships often fell apart as both parties gained an awareness of the significance of racial difference.” (West, 59) The choice of whether these playmates would remain friends throughout their lifetime was in the hands of the white women and whether they would participate in the institution and racial discrimination perpetrated by their families. Now, the question of whether there was a form of sisterhood for