Mama Plantation Research Paper

As a farmer’s wealth increased, so too did their land acreage and number of slaves. Approximately five to six percent of slave holders amassed a degree of wealth that allowed them to develop their farms into complex plantation systems. Unlike the typical farmer in rural areas, a large plantation complex as it existed in the 18th and 19th centuries had the characteristics of an agricultural corporation and functioned as such with the plantation owner as the CEO that employed overseers to manage his crops and slaves. Most plantation owners had more than 50 slaves; an additional one percent of slave holders operated plantations that held 500 to 1,000 slaves. Although cotton, tobacco, rice, and wheat, were the primary crops grown on a plantation, …show more content…
This residence also served as the plantation headquarter. The outbuildings that surrounded the big house were arranged in a manner that reflected the social hierarchies of the owner and those enslaved on the plantation. A number of outbuildings were strategically located around the main house that included the kitchen located directly behind the main house, usually adjacent to the dining area; and a carriage house, ice house, gristmill, distillery, cotton barn, garconnieres for older sons, the overseer's house, and perhaps, a plantation store. Louis Hughes, a former slave, described the typical construction of his slave holder’s plantation residence that was typical on most …show more content…
Each quarter may have functioned separately with an overseer and a basic complement of slaves that worked in those locations, buildings, and stock. The slave quarters in these areas usually contained a house for the overseer and one or two room cabins for the field slaves. Celestia Avery, a former slave near LaGrange, Georgia, described the layout and the contents of the slave quarters across the slave holder’s 500 acre plantation:
On a typical plantation, slave quarters resembled tiny villages comprised of cabins or huts constructed with cypress, pine, or wood logs. The cabins were arranged in an arc, a single row, or a double row, in which with the overseer’s house stood in the middle. The slave quarters were usually hidden behind massive oak trees, out of the sight of the big house residents and their visitors. In most situations a skilled carpenter on the plantation spent his time constructing slave cabins in the quarters. Nehemiah Caulkins, provided testimony that indicates that slaves built their