The Intentions of the Slave Institution - Thesis Example

Slave Owners Introduction The institution of slavery was a dark era in the history of American nation. Although now criticized as morally intolerable, several in colonial America believed that the economic growth of the United States was dependent upon forced laborers. Although it was a very popular form of labor during the early stages of American growth, it was very cruel and evil type of labor and Americans understood this; to be a slave owner you had to of had a mindset that was just purely focused on wealth and status and no respect for the black race at all. The Intentions of the Slave Institution The owner and slave relationship was characterized by the domination of the owner over the slave. Force was the basis of this relationship and this idea was clearly articulated in the 1829 decision by a judge in North Carolina concerning the relationship between a owner and a slave. He wrote: With slavery ... the end is the profit of the master, his security and the public safety; the subject, one doomed in his own person, and his posterity, to live without knowledge, and without the capacity to make anything his own, and to toil that another may reap his fruits…. The power of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect. Another common aspect of American slavery was isolation. Africans were stolen away from their homes, families, and culture. Everything that was familiar to them was stripped away and they were then isolated in a new world. Orlando Patterson termed this element of slavery "natal alienation". Slaves were not only isolated from their family, but also suffered from an aspect of self-isolation. Most slaves that were interviewed had no idea how old they were or when they were born. Some masters kept slaves' birth dates in the Bible, while others failed to keep any records. When Emma Jeter was asked her age she replied, "When I axed him how old I was, he allus ’lowed something like dis, ’you is older than you is good’, and dat all he ever said ’bout my age.". Whites intentionally denied slaves the right to know their ages to keep them ignorant. Not only were African slaves denied their rights and claims of birth, they were also denied the right of creating family ties that would be recognized by the law. Selling children away from their parents was a common practice. The law did not recognize African slave relationships, and families could be ripped apart if masters desired. Selling husbands away from wives or children away from mothers was a common practice in America and was sometimes used as a threat of punishment. Some masters tried to keep families together; however this was rare. "Kenneth Stamp forcefully insists that the great majority of slaveholders chose business over sentiment and broke up families when under financial pressure." For most masters, monetary success tended to be more important than the happiness of slaves. African slaves in America were deemed social outcasts. They were thought to be strange and assumed to be savage. These were the major components in that sense of difference that provided the mental margin between masters and African slaves. They were never considered equals to whites and were placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. As Winthrop Jordan wrote: They did not belong to the same community as Christians, or civilized Europeans. The focus of this "we-they" distinction was at first religious, later racial. …to be Christian was to be civilized rather than barbarous, English rather than African, white rather than black. African slaves were considered strangers by the white population and also among each other. They were taken from various areas throughout Africa and the chances of being enslaved with others from the same area or clan were slim. Owners could use slaves for whatever they pleased; slaves had no rights. They could not make basic decisions on their own such as what or when to eat. Slaves could not choose their lines of work. Their masters determined when, how long, and under what conditions they would work. Slaves could not make the choice to get married, and even if they did, marriages were not binding by law. Slaves could not choose to be educated unless their masters determined that education would increase their value. Slavery was familiar to Africans, but New World slavery was entirely foreign. Africans in America were completely cut off from their native land and they were initially frightened by the white men and their civilization. They were shocked by the cruel treatment that they received and scared by the heathens who had stolen them. The life that the African slaves endured was completely foreign and unnatural to them. It centered on the idea that all members of the black race were inferior to and dependent on their white masters. The rules and regulations that limited their lives were essentially works of fiction written by the white population in order to subjugate their black slaves. Labeling Black as Inferior The idea that black Africans were a people of lesser status was contrived by slave owners in order to keep Africans as the dregs of society. Stereotypes, political justifications, and medical theories all attempted to characterize Africans as a species of lower social standing than whites. In essence, the idea that Africans were inferior beings was propaganda, and its promotion was necessary to substantiate the enforcement of Africans into slavery. The acceptance of this idea deprived Africans of intellectual advancement, and limited them from receiving equal treatment. In Peter Kolchin's historiography of slavery, he noted Wmthrop D. Jordan's demonstration concerning the three ideas that the English harbored about the African race. This ideology initially facilitated their enslavement and set them apart as foreigners who were liable to different treatment: First, they were "black," or so they appeared… Second, they were "savage" or "uncivilized."… Third, they were "heathens," an attribute that may have been the most important of all, for in an era when being the wrong kind of Christian put one in mortal danger in most of Christendom, being a non-Christian automatically put one beyond the pale. These ideas formed the foundation that set African slaves apart from the white population in America. Because of their differences in appearance, culture, and religion they were treated as an inferior class. "They required more "breaking in" in terms of language, customs, work habits, and obedience. During the first half-century of English settlement, some Africans did serve as temporary indentured servants; however, most Africans were enslaved for life." Even though white indentured servants were controlled and temporarily labored for free, a majority of them came to America voluntarily. Africans were forced to relocate and serve as a free labor class indefinitely. It was forced migration that set Africans apart from indentured servants. In time, most white Americans assumed and accepted that Africans were destined to be slaves. Legal rationales put forward by Slave Owners Slave owners also promoted their ideas as truth throughout America. George Fitzhugh was a small planter who practiced law and advocated slavery through what he termed "The Universal Law of Slavery." George Fitzhugh degraded Africans as a race and blatantly designated them as an inferior class solely due to the color of their skin. He likened Africans to children, which deemed them as dependants. He also stated that since African slaves lacked the ability to care for themselves, their masters had to assume the role of fathers in order to ensure their survival. These were theories concerning the mental state of Africans, theories that were reiterated and driven into the psyches of white society. A majority of the population believed these fallacies to be true and treated African slaves with these ideas in mind. One of the most appalling aspects of these fallacies is that they were being reinforced by politicians who were directly involved in running the government. Senator James Henry Hammond delivered a speech to the U.S. Senate on March 4, 1858. This was termed the "Mudsill Theory" and in it he stated that "In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life." In 19th -century America, this theory applied to African Americans and was used mostly to discriminate against slaves, and promote the concept of slavery as a positive good. This form of social control also supported a framework of legalities. Legal rationales were spread throughout the ruling class in order to justify the inhumane treatment of Africans as a race. If these rationalizations were accepted by those who ran the government, then the remainder of the population would be more apt to follow the direction of their leaders. This led to a widespread belief in the inferiority of the African race. A Medical Rationale Black Africans were generally believed to be savage, lazy, cowardly, superstitious, submissive, immoral, and stupid by slave owners. Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright, a Louisiana physician, wrote that they were "endowed with a will so weak" that they had "an instinctive feeling of obedience to the stronger will of the white man." However, when slaves rejected their status as property by running away, Dr. Cartwright invented a sickness to explain their actions: "The Mental Alienation Theory." He explained that many slaves suffered from "drapetomania" or the disease causing Negroes to run away. He argued that absconding from service was as much a disease of the mind as any other type of mental alienation. Medical science was thusly used to justify slavery and its practices. When African slaves tried to reject their status as property, doctors found it necessary to create a disease that would liken their resistance to some sort of phenomenon. It was as if the slave owners could not accept the fact that they had indeed been wrong about the true nature of Africans. Slave owners found it difficult to understand why so many slaves ran away. Whatever the reason, some slave owners found it hard to believe that some slaves were truly dissatisfied with their position in life. The white slave owners invented and reinvented fallacies to support their original claims. When Africans proved their theories wrong by running away or by other forms of resistance, new theories had to be expounded in order to explain how Africans could be unhappy with their lives as slaves. However, the theories concerning inferiority created by the slave owners lacked sufficient evidence; they were works of fiction that helped maintain the existing power structure. In essence, African slaves were stigmatized. They were treated as an inferior class and were reminded that they were never to forget their positions in society. "This poison was deliberately and plentifully administered to slaves from childhood to the cemetery, so that they were aware that their most heinous crime, that for which there was no forgiveness, was to forget their place, to become uppity." Whether slaves consciously forgot their place or not, if whites suspected they had, they would be reprimanded. Reminding slaves of their place in society was a critical element of American slavery. If slaves tried to act in any way that signified a level of equality to whites, then methods of cruel and unjust punishment were administered. The Slave Codes The Slave Codes were intended to be repressive and they used blunt and direct language. The general thinking behind the institution of slavery was founded on the notion that slaves were asset, not people, and that the law should shield not only the right to own asset but also protect the owner from the risk of violence. Therefore, these laws rendered slaves as objects without political or civil rights that could be disposed of at their master's pleasure. In addition to being repressive, the codes were also tyrannical in nature because they exercised power in ways that were oppressive and abusive towards slaves. North Carolina planter Charles Pettigrew wrote: It is a pity that agreeable to the nature of things Slavery and Tyranny must go together and that there is no such thing as having an obedient and useful slave, without the painful exercise of undue and tyrannical authority. The tyrannical nature of the Slave Codes is illustrated through some of the basic laws that were created and enforced upon slaves. Slave owners took freedom away from slaves primarily by physical confinement. Ankle and wrist shackles, for instance, limited mobility, discouraged flight, and degraded the men and women who were forced to wear them. Slaves were also confined through the restrictions concerning education. A majority of slaves had no schooling at all. "It was believed that literacy did not go with slavery and was dangerous. The free mind would one day free the enslaved body." "Every Southern state except Maryland and Kentucky had stringent laws forbidding anyone to teach slaves reading and writing, and in some states the penalties applied to the educating of free Negroes and mulattoes as well." There tended to be a common belief that education and rebellion had a common link. Slaves were also kept illiterate for fear of them learning that there was a different world beyond the borders of enslavement. Slaves were often told that learning was not suitable for them. Emma Hurley recalled, "The folks I belonged to said it wouldn't do for niggers to learn out'n books; that schools warn't for them. They said learnin' would git us so they couldn't do nothin' wid us." When slaves became educated and obtained their freedom, they were fully aware of the atrocities that they had suffered. However, if slaves remained unaware that a better life existed outside of their own realm, then there was nothing to miss, nothing worth the risk of revolt. Keeping slaves illiterate was advantageous for masters; it essentially kept slaves ignorant. The psychological theories and physical confinements were a necessity for the success of slavery in America and they formed the basis for the overall treatment of Africans as a race. Punishment Every effort was made to keep slaves in awe of the power of slave owners. A South Carolina planter wrote, "The fear of punishment is the principle to which we must and do appeal, to keep them in awe and order." Rebellious slaves were punished swiftly and cruelly to discourage others. The acts of cropping ears, castrating, hanging, burning, and mutilating were all common punishments for those who resisted. Slaves were also branded, tortured, maimed, crippled, and tarred and feathered. In all of these actions, the whites demonstrated that if slaves did resist they would face the harshest of consequences. Flogging or whipping was also a common form of punishment. It is difficult to determine how often American masters and overseers whipped their slaves due to a lack of concrete evidence. However, the rate at which Caribbean masters whipped their slaves is supported by evidence. It is likely that American masters acted on a similar principle as their Caribbean neighbors and utilized whipping as a punishment as frequently. Most slaves who were interviewed knew about the practice of whipping and if they were not whipped themselves, they knew of close relatives or friends who were. The practice itself was well-known in American slavery. Many slaves bore witness to this fact. Daily discipline was left up to each individual master. There were a variety of offenses that warranted whipping as a punishment. Leaving a piece of boll in the cotton could be considered a slight offense and twenty-five lashes was the usual correction. "For the next ordinary penalty a slave got fifty, and one hundred for something severe." Talking back to whites was considered to be a serious offense and could warrant three hundred to five hundred lashes. This could leave a slave in pain for weeks. Running away was the most serious offense that a slave could commit. Some slaves were whipped for hours causing great agony and sometimes death. Although punishment varied, it could be administered at any time for any reason. Slaves were very aware of this fact and it may have hindered greater numbers of slaves from resisting. The idea of punishment was almost paradoxical. If slaves misbehaved, they could be whipped but even if they behaved in the fashion that masters wanted, they could still be whipped. There were no set rules concerning the conditions that warranted a whipping. Conclusion In America slavery was a very popular form of labor during the early stages of American growth, it was very cruel and evil type of labor and Americans understood this; to be a slave owner you had to of had a mindset that was just purely focused on wealth and status and no respect for the black race at all. Slave institution was designed to be an efficient and organized apparatus whose sole purpose was to exploit the labor of those unfortunate enough to fall under its auspicious control. Slave owners, planters and ruling class labeled African slaves as inferiors through a variety of ways. Religious, political, and medical justifications were created to facilitate the belief of blacks as inferior beings content with their status as slaves. These justifications were primarily forms of propaganda used to buttress the institution. Slave owners imposed heavy restrictions, which were substantiated by laws. 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