Rise of Slavery and Its Abolition in the United States - Case Study Example

Slavery in United Staes affiliation Slavery in United s of slavery in North America existedfrom early years in the colonial period until 1863 where the president Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in Southern states during the Emancipation Proclamation. The 13th amendment in 1865 abolished slavery in USA and its border states like Kentucky where there were 50,000 slaves. Indian tribes also slavery was abolished using peace treaties that were affected after the war. The 17th and 18th century the male slaves were more than female slaves were where their experiences were distinct (Reese 208). African-Americans were used as slaves in the 17th century even during the American Revolution and during the adoption of the Constitution in 1787.However during this time it was a dying institution. In 1800 slavery started to thrive again especially in the southern part of America. The cotton gin led to slavery of African Americans. Labor needed to plant cotton was a major factor for enslavement (Davis 377). Not all slaves worked in such cotton plantations where other worked on tobacco plantations, cotton, and looked after livestock. Slaves worked for long hours whereby work started before dawn and ended after sunset with only a two-hour break. They worked under constant supervisions where there threats to punishments by overseers regardless of who their owners were. There were harsh conditions and lack of freedom they were not always powerless victims where they started important institutions. They lived in a community that went beyond the family and single plantations. Their cabins provided freedom from supervisions by the overseers where they had vibrant social and cultural life where their masters could not reach. Plantations were used before the Europeans settled in Americas sugarcane plantations. Where it had thrived in areas like the Mediterranean Middle Ages. When European merchants were sailing, they adopted such practices into their new settlements. This early plantations needed labor where the Europeans disliked the labor required in the plantations and the indigenous people refused to work on it, and this led to forced slave labor (Rodriguez 33). There was a massive expansion of the population that was enslaved in Americas, which was possible due to the transatlantic slave trade. The population increased because slaves barred more children. Cotton was later in slavery in America where in 1800 it spared to other states. With the first arrival of slaves was in 1619 that led to an economic system that stayed until 1865 after the abolishment of the Thirteen Amendment. The slaves had three ways of resisting slavery that is running away, slowing work down, and daily acts of resistance (Reese 208). The Stone Rebellion in 1739 was a rebellion by slaves that achieved its success. Slaveholders became anxious due to such revolutions where it promoted the island to become a black republic by the beginning of 1804.White was more than the blacks did. The International slave trade ended in 1808 the masters relied on an increased birth rate among the slaves they had in their plantations to produce the required labor force (Hymowitz 66). Another form of resisting was running away where they hid in forests or visited relatives in other plantations. Some were able to escape slavery for good, but others were unlucky where they were severely punished others even shot to death or beaten by the owners dogs mercilessly. However, after the Revolutionary War the Northern states abolished slavery and gave slaves freedom. This method of running away was difficult since one had to leave their friends and family members and risk them being punished. Some were successful after many failed attempts at escaping (Rodriguez 34). Most slaves escaped in the Southern part of America where they moved to the North where there were freedoms for lives. Young men found it easier to escape where they were most likely to be sold and were hired out to serve as errand in other plantations. There were sympathizers who helped slaves escape to the North especially in the 19th century. Most slaves escaped by foot where they threw stones to dogs that chased after them and others stole horses from their masters or hid in ships. In the 19th century, almost 100,000 slaves escaped to gain freedom (Elkins 35). Slaves also used day-to-day resistance as a form of resistance like sabotage of breaking farming tools setting fire to buildings and striking down slaves that were considered as owner’s property. Some slaves faked sickness and played dumb and this slowed down work at the plantations. Women were able to feign illness to escape working conditions that were harsh and unbearable. They also pretended not to understand instructions from their masters and their master’s wives. Slaves resisted at every chance they got where they formed a distinct culture through religious beliefs that gave them hope in such severe conditions especially when they were being punished. Economics of Slavery During the American Revolution, it was considered as a national institution where the number of slaves was considerably small. The slaves lived and worked in every colony at were established in American states. Before the Constitution was ratified, some states in the Northern were abolishing slavery where the Northwest Ordinance 1787 made slavery illegal in its territories, and this meant that slavery existed in the South. In 1790 and the period of Civil War slaves in America increased where smuggling of such slaves was common. Around 1820 slavery was mostly in tobacco especially in Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. With the spared of cotton slavery spread to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana (Elkins 55). Dealing with the cotton production was time-consuming where their introduction of the cotton gin that used large numbers of a slave to work on it. Slaves for this particular field came from the Upper South like Delaware, Kentucky, and Maryland (Davis 376). The Slave trade had its benefits to the Europeans where the controlled labor of millions of people is linked to the growth of industrialization in Europe, capitalization, population growth and scientific evolution. It is also liked to change in social role sin families and migration. This benefit came from new crops like sugar that led to the expansion of slavery in Africa. In the 17th century at the beginning of the Civil War commercial agriculture and slavery was closely related (Davis, pg 375). There was an increase of slaves due to tobacco in Carolinas, and Virginia ether was rice plantations. The slaveholders did not ever question the economic value that the slave brought. In the 18th century, some slaveholder started to understand their value to due to a decrease in prices for their products. Purchase of slaves in America seen as profitable invested that was to yield rates of return especially in plantations and to manufacture. Some slaves were used as domestic servants that worked in eth planter’s master’s house. They worked as nurses, house cleaners, coachmen, and tailors. Some worked as laborers and craftsmen’s but the number was very small where others worked as carpenters, masons that were paid highly were for field hands that were given to young healthy men who were in their late twenties and others as blacksmiths. Most slaves worked as field hands where their duties involved picking coffee in the plantations, planting coffee, harvesting rice, sugar, tobacco and sugarcane. It would seem that regardless of the slaves work it was a profitable business. Expenses of housing slaves and feeding and clothing them was considered less than what they would contribute that turned to be more profitable. Such profits increased in the 19th century where the price for cash crops was high, and maintenance of slaves was considerable low. Slaves who worked in the fields were considered as unskilled where plantations depended on skilled slaves like metalworkers, coopers, and masons. Slaves who were skilled were tasked with keeping factory areas, equipment’s and arranging transport and functioning of the factories. Other needs a were served by other workers like cooks, nurses, and tailors. Slaves that were skilled in agriculture were given important tasks that they made decisions on plantations especially during harvesting and when sugar was ready and when tobacco leaves were, ready to be picked and loading and transportation of such field commodities on the plantation. Domestic workers in plantations catered for the needs of the loyal owners and their managers. Treatment of Slaves Slaves in America treatment varied by time and the place but it were characterized in a degrading manner. Most slaves were whipped, sexually abused including raping women, and executed. Slaves were being denied the chance of becoming literate to avoid them becoming rebellious and later escape slavery. There were slave rebellions that were led by Nat Turner in the year 1831 that was one of the cases used by slaveries to avoid them from becoming knowledgeable of their rights as human beings (Wilson 22). Others were being stopped from being religious where they were stopped by holding gatherings of worship, but they were only allowed to do so when a white person was present. This was due to avoid any communications that would insight rebellion among the slaves. Slave received medical care from their fellow slaves or by the slaveholder’s family members. Some of these slaves had knowledge of African remedies. They were being shackled, whipped, mutilated, branded, and imprisoned. This was done as a sign of disobedience. However some of the masters abused them only to assert their power over the slaves where they even beat women who were pregnant. Sometime the masters would dig holes big enough to fit their stomachs of pregnant women and would continue to lash them repeatedly. Some slaves were being sexually abused where some died trying to evade such abuses and other suffered physical and psychological trauma. However, after 1662 Virginia adopted the doctrine of partus sequitur ventrem that regulated any relations between black women and white men where the doctrine-classified slave mothers children as slaves without considering their fathers race. A publication of 1850 provided rules and guidelines for determining an ideal slave where the slave had to maintain strict discipline and submission to their masters (Wilson 11). In addition, the slave has had to have a personal inferiority, and it instilled fear.Slaves are wee to take an interest in their master enterprise and be deprived of education and recreational activities. It is clear slaves were being dehumanized and brutalized. Whether they were working or their masters were still physically abusing not them. This treatment was mostly experienced in plantations that were preserved by overseers since the owners were not present. Slaves were overworked where they were branded, flogged, and shot at. Flogging describes average lashing and whipping that a slave experiences due to their disobedience. In 1820 and afterward there was the prohibition of international slave trade, therefore, some slaveholders started to improve the living conditions and also working conditions of slaves which was to avoid them from escaping (Klein 77). Most slaveholders denied the slaves access to information and education to restricting them from being rebellious and minimize their exposure to the outside world. This minimize their dreams and aspirations that reduced their mental awareness. Mid-19th century states in America had outlawed slave from being education. Virginia in 1841 punished slave who violated this law by using 20 lashes and a fine of $100. However, Kentucky state slaves were allowed to be educated but it was nonexistent. Working conditions for slaves worsened due to plantations where they were being overworked to provide food and shelter. Slaves were being paid any Masters small bonuses, and they were allowed to keep their gambling’s (Lanham 22). In the year 1740 after the Stone Rebellion, the state of Maryland reduced the working hours of slaves to 15 per day especially in the summer and 14 per day during winter. Work was prohibited on Sunday. Such laws were motivated by compassion and pacification of slaves in the prevention of future revolution. Working conditions for slaves was worsened due to the plantations need for a slave to work overtime in sustaining their food and shelter (Zinn 11). Medical care for slaves was always uncertain where most considered it poor. Most slaves provided care to each other. Conditions under which they lived were harsh. Some owners saw that slaves who were weak meant less wok. Therefore, this forced them to have medical doctors to monitor the health of the slaves and keep them healthy. Some owners relied on their remedies in order to save money and any assistance they would get from their wives. Some older slave should pass their knowledge to other slaves. There existed a dual system of medical care that provided inadequate medical care for slaves in the South, and these systems exclude such slaves from learning such skills of training. Some slaves were punished using knives, field tools, and guns or nearby objects. Some slave were whipped which was a very common method of punishment where some were whipped to death. Those who lived in plantations were mostly punished where the owner of the plantation or the master, either their children or wife or driver, administered it or overseer. Overseers had the authority to punish slaves. Some methods were used during such torture where a metal collar was used on slaves to remind them of their disobedience. They were very heavy and thick and had spikes that made it difficult for them to work and sleep/ The reasons slaves were punished included breaking laws, working at a slow pace, abounding the plantation without permission from the overseer or insubordination of their overseas, or masters. Such punishment varied a regarding the plantation. Sometimes men and women were punished differently where men were shackled. Sometimes slaves were branded for purposes of identification and sometimes it was used as part of the punishment. Slaves were also mutilated like being castrated and some of their ears being amputated especially in the 1830s.Slaves that runway and were caught were punished in any form and manner where most were shot or bitten by their master dogs. In the year 1771, the state of Maryland established that slaves were not entitled to a jury trial and gave judges the power to impose punishment that included 40 lashes. In 1729, there was a law passed that allowed hanging of slaves, cutting their bodies and decapitation and be publicly displayed. However, in 1740, the state of South Carolina passed a law that prohibited cruel behavior to slaves but there were instances where slaves could be killed. This law profited cutting tongues of slaves, removing their eyes, amputating and burning their bodies, but the law permitted beating, whipping, and imprisonment of slaves (Klein 44). Slaveholders could be fined under the law if they failed to punish slaves who runway. Such slave codes allowed violence but were denounced due to their brutality. The Black Codes regulated the slaves and free blacks where their movements were regulated by slave patrols that were mostly from the white population. Such patrols had the authority to use summary punishments agents’ slave who escaped, sometimes maimed, and killed them in the process of escaping. There were slave codes that included laws that governed the control of slaves and outlined how they were to be punished. In South Carolina, such laws were introduced in 1712 and were used as a model for other North American colonies in America. Georgia in 1712 adopted the slave codes and later Florida adopted the Georgia slave codes (Klein 55). A slave codes outlined that slaves were not allowed to leave the premises of their masters unless a white person was present to accompany them, if such a slave would violate such a law any white person was authorized by the law to chastise them. Slaves that runway or attempted to run away were beaten to death and those that evaded capture for 20 days were publicly whipped and branded with the letter “R” on their right cheek. They would also be amputated by removal of their ear and castrated if the days of escape increased (Davis 377). The slave codes outlined that owners who failed to abide by the codes would forfeit their slaves and be heavily fined. Other rules regarded that the premises where the slaves stayed were searched after every two weeks to check whether there were any stolen goods or weapons. Punishment for such a crime included losing an ear; branding, nose- slitting or even death.No slave worked for pay, plant corn, either peas or rice or was allowed to wear fine clothing than Negro cloth. These laws were later revised in 1739 where some amendments were put in place. Slaves were not allowed to be taught how to read and write, work on Sunday or even work for 15 hours a day. Any willful killing of a slave amounted to a penalty of $700, and any passion killing amounted to a fine of $350.Concealing the runaway of a slave amounted to a fine of $1,000 or a one-year imprisonment. Any slave that was hired as a freeman or a clerk the master was fined at $100.Anyone who sold alcoholic beverages to slaves was fined $100 or a six month prison sentence. Anyone who taught a slave how to read or write could be fined $100 or suffers six months imprisonment and a death sentence was issued for circulating incidental literature. Slaveholders were forbidden from freeing slaves except by using a deed. Slave’s codes in tobacco plantations were modeled in 1667 that stipulated that slave was not allowed to have in their possession any weapons or leave their masters plantations. They were also prohibited from attacking any white person even when it was for self-defence. There were instances where owners were convicted of crimes. In 1811, a slaveholder known as Arthur William Hodge was executed for killing a slave in West Indies. Such laws were poorly enforced or even avoided. In the case of Smith v, Hancock the defendant stated that he was justified in punishing his slave since he was attending an illegal meeting that was to lead to rebellion (Stuckey 15). There were also instances where slaves would fight against sexual abuse and most of them died resisting such attacks. Laws of rape during such terms were race biased that established a double standard. Men from the black community were accused of rape and were punished by castration that was later increased to the death penalty. The slaveholders also raped them. Slaveholders to extinguish resistance and make them feel like animals raped most women. Rape was deeply rooted in the patriarchal southern culture where all women were treated as property. A black women were subjected to sexual exploitation wand white women were only subjected to dependency and submission. Due to racial purity, sexual relations were prohibited from white women and black men and between white men and black women. Owners and masters also abused children and free women sexually. Children included young women who were sexually abused by their master children and masters and their relatives. Some slave women and indentured were also abused due to lack of control of their movements where their holders manipulated them to high risks like sleeping in their bedrooms where they were later raped. Most women who were free or white women accused men of raping them . However, slaves lacked recourse since their bodies were the property of their masters. The partus sequitur ventrum doctrine that allowed children to take the status of their mothers this was a different take on common law if children take the status of their father. This law relieved fathers of their parental responsibility. Most women during this period resisted reproduction in order to resist slavery. Such women used herbs to terminate pregnancies or abstain. They chewed cotton roots to terminate such pregnancies. Cotton had a substance called gossypol that had a poisonous pigment. It restricted mobility of a sperm and inhibited the development of sperms. This substance also interfered with the menstrual cycle that restricted some hormones to be released. This helped women to take control of their bodies and lives that frustrated the planters. Such decisions for aborting a baby were not easy for the women, but they made the decision for restricting reproduction. Others used abstinence that avoided their children from being brought to slavery thus denying their masters for human property in future. They knew children started slavery at a young age and since life as a slave was harsh, and there would be a separation of a child from their mother they restricted reproduction to avoid such instances. Women who were pregnant were also subjected to work, and this caused miscarriages in most cases or childbirth difficulties. When they had their kids, they would go to work with them where they nursed it. Some women used a contraceptive that was a form of the strike since masters expected them to reproduce any children. Most slaves were unable to maintain their African tradition especially women. Most African women were raised to bear children. Slavery denied this opportunity. Having an African family was impossible where they were in the field the better part of the day. Motherhood was considered as a fulfillment of female adulthood and fertility in African customs. There were instances where masters and owners practiced slave breeding. This meant slave owners are influencing the reproduction of slaves for purposes of profit. This led forced sexual relations by the male to female slaves that led to slave pregnancies. There were many master-slave relationships in order to produce slave children. This relationship destroyed black families. Slaveholders had an economic interest where they sold slaves entire families or oath individuals of a certain age when they could leave their homes. Due to the development of cotton, plantations in Deep South led to breaking up of families where males were sold to other slave markets. In an early colonial era, slaves were mostly men but this changed over a period where entire families were sold. In the Southern United States, the number of slaves increased tremendously where more native produced families. Most slave women were subject to sexual abuse from their owners and overseers sons or any white men in power and some were raped by their slave men (Rediker 33). Most slaves lost their family members when their owners sold them for profit, paying debts or punishment. Slaves were given gifts especially to grown children like for wedding settlements. When children were the age of 12, they were ready to work as slaves or at the age of 14.Some slave refused their children to worked and fought back by killing their owners and burning barns or killing their owner’s horses. Slowing down work was a form of resistance used by slaves where they walked way to nearby plantations (Davis 377). Mixed race children were evidence of master having sexual relations with black women slaves who later worked as servants in households. In 19th century, most female slaves were stereotyped as promiscuous and lustful in that they tempted white men. A female slave that worked partially clothed in the hot climate initiated this. When there were auctions or slaves they were mostly displayed naked and partially clothed (Genovese 22). The owners’ sons would later take advantage of slave women after such auctions before they were married legally to white women. Some women were sold as concubines or for prostitution. Such concubines demanded a higher price than skilled male slaves did. In early Louisiana, French nationals took wives and mistresses a form the slaves and later fed their children. Slaves experienced personal violations where they were moved from on property to another without any notice. This happened when a slave died or was unwell, and slaves were needed in the plantation. The owners moved others due to bequeathment where the slaves were removed to unknown places where they left their loved ones and family members. This was the most resented violations of their life in the colonies. Food given to slaves wanted enough and was poorly cooked, and therefore slaves had to plant small foodstuffs of land and fished. They were not given proper clothing where mothers had to work to cloth their children at night even after long hours of work during the day Shelters they lived in was also poor constructed where they lived in stick houses and dirty floors that had cracks that allowed water to pass trough during rainy seasons and wind blew in at night. Such treatment for slaves especially whipping them was considered as sensible to the owners and the overseers as it instilled fear among the slaves and avoided resistance. This would enable them to obey the slaveholders and their masters by working hard in the plantations and which would later produce a better yield in the plantations. Some masters used other incentives like material rewards like food and free time that was used to make them feel humane and this would enable them not to escape the plantations due to harsh conditions of work and also living conditions. The masters used such material rewards as a sign of acknowledging their hard work that reduced tensions among the slaves. However, this cannot be considered as sensible since not all slaves were rewarded, and those that were given such rewards were not given on a daily basis. This created a sense of worthlessness among slaves who felt that they were being misused and that is why most of them ended up running way from the plantations and using day-to-day resistant tactics to resist harsh conditions they were being subjected to by the slaveholders in the plantations. Overseers By 1860, almost 88 % of slave owners in America owned twenty slaves and he the plantation where large the slave owners had over 100 slaves. The owners relied on overseers to have the jobs done by the slave sin the plantations and their various workforces. Overseers were under pressure from the owners of the plantations for purposes of maximizing profit for them (Davis, pg 376). The overseers bullied the slave so that they would increase their productivity, such punishments lo included like cart- whip. Slaves worked from sunset to sunrise and during harvest time, they worked for eighteen hours under the supervision of the overseers. Overseers were tasked with the responsibility of supervising slave’s labor and maintaining the human property of the owner’s plantation. Their duties were vital as they dealt with day-to-day running of the slavery operation, however; they lacked the social standing and absolute authority. They were hired to watch slaves as they worked and were very intimidating. Slaves usually avoided any eye contact with them and did their jobs as quickly as they could to avoid any abuse from the overseers. Most overseers were considered as lowbred scoundrels according to the slaveholders where they were violently abusing slaves. They acted as intermediaries of the owner’s plantations where they occupied an impossible authoritative position. They were reduced to produce profitable crops and maintain workforce among the slaves (Martin, pg 16). This led to slaves improving their efficiency due to fear of such overseers or drivers who acted as overseers .In 1860, it was hard to know how many overseers were there but it was equal to the number of plantations were there were thirty or more slaves in such places. Most overseers were sons of the planters where they learned the rate of management from their fathers. Others were semi- professionals who had plans to start their plantations. Most of them were drunkards who did not have stable jobs who move from one plantation to another (Van Riemsdijk, Tatiana 33). Mostly their task was to supervise the slaves as they worked in their respective tasks and duties. The frequency with which they supervised was often as they had to ensure that the work issued for the day was completed and done efficiently. Their job was daily, as they had to ensure that farm tools were distributed accordingly; the respective slaves did harvest, and that all slaves were present in their places of work.Therefore, the overseers worked all the time as they watched the slaves worked. They usually walked with whips whereby slaves who were taking breaks were whipped thoroughly or punished later through other forms of punishment. The overseers also ensured that the slaves did not exceed their two-hour break or the time issued to them to relax. Oversees were feared by slaves since they were very ruthless towards slaves and always found a way to punish the slaves even for only mere accusation like looking at them. The overseers were under pressure from the landowners to produce profits after every harvest, and therefore they exerted such pressure to the slaves in order for them to work quickly and efficiently to produce such profits as required. If the harvest did not produce the required profits the overseers would be fired or paid poorly, and that is why they ended being harsh towards slaves. The overseers had to report to the owner’s plantation on a daily basis the progress of the work is done in the plantations and what was required to improve the quality of the harvest. Such overseer were white men and were not mistreated by the owners since they were not slaves.However when an overseer was fired due to inefficiency, a slave would be chosen to deal with such work. The slave chosen was skilled and was tasked with making a decision on the plantations like when the harvest was ready to be plucked or harvested. Mostly the driver of the plantation which was white was also chosen to take over tasks of overseers who were to supervise slaves as they worked. If slaves violated any rules, the master would punish them or give instructions to the driver to punish them accordingly. Conclusion Slaves in the United States were harshly treated where they were denied freedom for everything. The slaves were sexually abused. Forced to bear children, they were severely punishment for breaking the slave codes. Such punishments wee meted out harshly and inhumanly where some were castrated, amputated beaten to death, hanged and other were whipped. The slaves worked throughout the day with only a few hours of rest, and they were fed poorly. They were however using tactics to resist such poor conditions where they had day-to-day restrictions like burning the firms or breaking the tools. Some were running away, but the majority were not successful and would end up being severely punished or even killed. However in the 19th century the Northern part of America slavery came to an end, and most slaves escaped to go to such areas where they were free. In the plantations, they were overseers who worked as supervisors and they were feared by the slaves, as they were very cruel and could punish them for mere incidences like resting for a while or looking at them suspiciously. Most slaves were subjected to sexual abuse by the slaves, owners, sons of the owners and the overseers. Laws regulating slaves were racist as only white men who refused to punish runaway slaves were only fined. It is clear that slavery in America was an institution where African-Americans were subjected to torture and very harsh conditions. 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University of Chicago Press, 2012. Zinn, Howard. A peoples history of the United States. Pan Macmillan, 2014. Read More