Slavery in America

Running head: Slavery in America

The Way Slaves Were Able to

Maintain Their Cultures

and Shape Their Lives

In America

Ryan Emilio

3127180

HIST 2P15

T.A.: Tracy Stewart

Throughout history, many documents have been recorded involving slavery within the United States of America. It is a fact that not many of those recorded documents were written by slaves as "...literacy was withheld from slaves" , which can very well explain why there is often times a bias point of view regarding a slave's way of life. By examining useful information such as autobiographies, journals, work logs and different forms of art, one will see what slave life was like from slaves' points of view. Although African American slaves were often mistreated by their slaveowners, many of them were still able to maintain their own culture and shape their own lives. This will become obvious after exploring a slave's family life including the birth and stages of marriage, as well as their personal, religious and social life.

When reading about family life as a slave, it begins with a mother giving birth. Not only would her family, friends and expected father join her, but also her owner would often be seen there as "...slave women tended to give birth before a crowded bedside" . The owner would value the baby a great deal as the birth is viewed by them as contributing to the growing labour force that the master has set up on their property. The owner may also be heard giving their pregnant slave advice to assure a healthy birth . When a slave first became pregnant, there were often negotiations made between her and the owner. These discussions involved her working hours during the pregnancy as well as when her work would be put on hold to make sure the baby was healthy at birth. There are some examples found where the expected mother is forced to work just days before she gave birth, although for the most part she was given some time off to assure a healthy birth .

As soon as the mother gave birth, the mother and father would already be worried about the adult responsibilities that lay ahead. "Obtaining a house was only one of many obstacles that Tom and Viney had to overcome in establishing a family and caring for their child...The young parents would have needed time away from their owner's work to maintain home and care for their infant" . In most cases, this could be arranged as it could not be stressed enough as to how important it was to the owners that the child's first few years were their healthiest. Since slave parents were usually responsible for training their children, they would be able to reduce the harsh "shock of bondage for them, help them to understand their situation, teach them values different from those their masters tried to instill in them, and give them a referent for self-esteem other then their master" . This would take away a tremendous amount of psychological pain that the child would have otherwise suffered .

Slaveholders knew that their was no way they could turn their backs on the slave's infants. This is because cruelty to the infants would also lead to alienating the work force as well as destroying the cooperation that the slave and owner had. In a situation such as this, slave owners would be careful as the father may become violent if their child is not being treated in a reasonable manner.

By the age of about seven or eight, both boys and girls gradually fell into more demanding work. Once they reached the age of ten to twelve, in most cases they were able to work alongside their parents in the field. This worked out well for the parents as they were not only able to spend time with their child, but also properly raise the child as well. This in turn worked as an advantage for the slaveowner because they felt that since the parents were there to look after the young child, the child would grow up to become more loyal and obedient than a slave purchased on the auction block .

A young slave's marriage was often encouraged by their owner as this led to more family members involved in the owner's business. Although this encouragement was for the wrong reasons, everybody was still generally happy as a result. In most cases, even though the slave might start to become romantic with another slave, it was the owner or the slave's parents who would decide on the child's partner. "For slaveholders who intervened with courtship, the question was not whether slaves would marry, but which slaves, when, and under what circumstances." . Courtship was not necessarily forced upon the children as many felt even fourteen to be too young. It was not until their late teens or early twenties that marriage would often occur. Although the engaged couple may sometimes not know much about each other, to their advantage, "they often shared both underlying principles and particular cultural forms . Many would think that the marriage would involve nothing but two slaves standing in a room with their torn clothing on, but infact many owners would realize the importance of the marriage to the slave. "Dat was some weddin'. I had on a white dress, white shoes an' long white gloves dat come to my elbow, an' Mis' Betsy done made me weddin' veil out of white net window curtain" . The masters of the domestic servants either hired a local white minister or the black plantation preacher to perform the marriage ceremony and this would often be followed by a large feast in their own parlors to the slave guests. After all of this, the slaves would dance in the quarters for hours in honour of the married couple.

A slave's personal life was by no means a life that one would want to live, although in many cases they did have some free time to shape what life they still had. A slave's personal time was reflected in recreation, religion and socialization.

There have been documents found which state that a master would often give their slaves a chance to work on his or her "own" time - nights, Sundays and often even Saturday afternoons would