Essay On The Antebellum South African Americans

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Whites vs. Blacks In the Antebellum South African Americans had a difficult life compared to the lives of whites. The white people treated the African Americans as property and nothing more. Since the slaves had no rights they could not do anything to help themselves. Slaves were not allowed to do anything else except work and get beaten if they did something wrong or not do what they were supposed to do. Whites did not get punished for what they did to their slaves. They could do anything they wanted and no one would care. African Americans could lose everything they ever cared about while whites didn’t lose anything. The lives of both whites and African Americans differed extremely in the Antebellum South. African Americans had …show more content…
The white men would sexual abuse their women slaves for their own needs. When the slaves would become pregnant they did not stop work and kept working up till their due date. Most of the women lost their babies due to being whipped and too much labour. When the baby did come the women only got a couple of weeks to recover which slowed process for the whites. The white men did not care for the baby because technically that baby was his property and not his son or daughter. Since the baby was mulattoes which is mixed blood, they too would become a slave and most likely be sold to another plantation. It is sad because the person who is supposed to be a father to this baby is sending them away as if they have no clue who they are. The slaves could have husbands and wives but the owners never recognized it and sexual abused anyone they saw fit. There was no out for the slaves and no one could help them without being …show more content…
The amount of physical abuse these people went through would kill anyone now a days. That’s how much they had to endure daily without complaining. Imagine having to get up everyday knowing that the whites are ready to beat you and whip you. That’s what these people had to wake up to everyday and maybe for their whole lives. African Americans lived in fear their whole lives hoping that they could make it past this part of their life and survive, even though most of them didn’t. Solomon is moved to Edwin Epps’ plantation and describes his new master as “portly,” “repulsive,” and a drunk who enjoys whipping his slaves “just for the pleasure of hearing them screech and scream.”( Northup, 12 Years a Slave, Page 122). As Solomon stated their owners did not care for the well being of their slaves and found enjoyment in torturing them.
The whites could seriously injure their slaves, so if they couldn’t continue their work that was one less person to get the work done. Whites would push their slaves to their limit and then if they couldn’t go on they would get rid of them then buy new ones. Whites treated their slaves like food, they only have so much time until they go bad and when they do they throw away the old and replace it with the

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