Causes Of Slave Resistance

Resistance: Can You See It? 1619, the year that North America would make a decision that would forever change the course of the ensuing future. Slavery thrived and brought about an economic lifestyle that would continue until 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment was passed and slavery was abolished. During the times of slavery there were many different methods of resisting work. Slaves could easily find ways to disrupt work and rebel against their owners, but was it really enough? Even though slaves found ways to rebel against their owners, they were merely stalling for the inevitable, which was more work of the same labor the next day. Resisting the work usually came with punishment, so more often than not it was probably a better idea …show more content…
Many slaves used coping methods that allowed them to fight back peacefully. Often slaves would have work slow downs, steal or break equipment, fake illnesses, and so on. Slaves also rebelled against their masters with their own religion. They would often hold secret religious meeting after dark somewhere secluded where their master could not see them. Slaves held their African culture close to their heart and in turn it turned into a sort of resistance. Many masters and overseers did not want their slaves practicing their own religion and would place many restrictions on doing such; these limitations also restricted the use of song and dance that might draw from their African heritage. Slaves used religious music as well as different dances and songs that were popular throughout Africa. Their culture was their to be sort of a sense of hope, faith that one day things would get better, just to simply lighten the emotional toil it took on …show more content…
Slaves would damage machinery any way they could, in the south it was common for slaves to throw a few rocks in their cotton sacks to break the cotton gin and possibly damage anything else along the way. Slaves did this for multiple reasons. First, if you break a heavy piece of machinery you have to sit aside time to repair the machine which can be very costly to the owner, not only monetary but time consumption as well. Second, this simply gave slaves time to cool off in a sense, gave them a time off work for the time being while the machine was being fixed. Slaves would also break simple every day tools as well, such as a hoe or shovel. Even though slave rebellions were very rare, they did occur, and they were bloody to say the least. “Periodic slave rebellions also shook the slave South. Nat Turner, a black preacher in South Hampton County, Virginia, led the most important of these in August 1831. It led to the deaths of 57 white, and at least 100 blacks, and resulted in the subsequent execution of 20 more blacks including Turner. The rebellion marked a turning point for