Slaves received off days depending on their owner some owners allowed their slaves to get an off days once every month or every Sunday, others did not allow any off days. After a long day of work slaves still had to work just to eat.They had to grow their own food on a plot of land given to them by their overseer. Slave women often had it hard, often being forced to have sexual intercourse with slaveholder just for the satisfaction of the slave owner. “Even if it appeared to be consensual it still begs the question whether or not it was truly consensual because slaves didn’t have a choice in the matter.” Families of the women were not able to defend them because they were at risk of being beaten severely or killed. If slaves got impregnated they were treated quite well compared to past conditions. SlaveHolders felt as pregnant slaves were valuable, so the slave women could expect fewer labor hours and more food during pregnancy. The average enslaved women gave birth to their first child at age nineteen and continued to birth children every two and a half years. SlaveHolders encourage this act because it benefited the enslaved women and slaveholders, the more …show more content…
Things changed once a man by the name of Nat Turner arrived on the scene, Nat Turner “was an enslaved African American who led a rebellion of slaves and free blacks in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831, that resulted in the deaths of 55 to 65 white people”. Nat Turner rebellion wasn't such a good thing, Slaves that joined Nat Turner's rebellion was often executed and more than 200 others were beaten by white angry mobs and supremacists. Nat Turner wasn't a nonviolent person, In 1831 he and six other slaves joined together to kill the Travis family, and obtained arms and horses which brought in 75 new members to Turner's rebellion. After acquiring new members Turner and his rebels killed sixty white men, women, and children, Causing him and 16 of his associates to be executed. “People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.” Due to their belligerent behavior, whites attacked random African Americans, and also beheaded them. The response of angry slaves did nothing but made things worse by fighting fire with fire someone had to wind up burned and just the luck of the enslaved ones they were the ones