Life Under Slavery

Life Under Slavery
As America grew in prosperity, extra labor was a new necessity. To cure the demand for much needed workers, American settlers turned to slavery. African slaves were exploited from their homeland and were forced to work under poor conditions. They were greatly suppressed by their owners and were thought of as miniscule beings. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, African Americans were viewed as uneducated savages who were bent on slaughtering and raping the whites of America. Many slave owners were cruel and viewed slaves as inferior. However, slave owners were kind and developed personal bonds with his or her slaves. White Americans favored to invest in strong male slaves that were approximately twenty years
Beginning at sunrise, a slave worked diligently on the plantation with at least ten fellow slaves and was required to follow the task system. The task system was exactly like a weekly list of chores. Slaves would be given a set of tasks and were required to complete them in an allotted amount of time. Women and men were both required to work in the fields; however, some women participated in other duties. Women who weren’t working in the fields would often care for children, tend to livestock, or complete other household jobs. A slave’s day ended at dusk because the lack of sunlight made working impossible. Weary from the exhausting labor, a slave would return to his or her cabin. Here, he or she would prepare a meal and would later retire to a bed constructed of wooden planks. If a slave was suspected of committing a crime or refusing to work, he or she was forced to endure punishment by the hand of his or her overseer. Most often, the overseer’s punishment of choice was a flogging. While being flogged, a slave would be forced to lie down or stand up while being lashed with a whip multiple times. Women, regardless of pregnancy, were punished as well. Pregnant women who were caught committing an act of rebellion were force to lie face down while placing their stomachs into a shallow hole dug into the ground to protect the infant. Then, the African American woman would be lashed with a whip. Despite being forced into submission, some slaves were given the opportunity to earn a higher standing within the plantation. These slaves were of a higher standard and felt the field hands were inferior to