Slavery in the Antebellum Period
The term “Antebellum” means before war, this period was particularly before the civil war. During the 19th century (1800-1860), slavery was a major issue. One-third of all southerners during this time lived in bondage. Slavery existed primarily in the south. African Americans were enslaved on farms, small and large plantations, inside homes and out in the fields. Slavery can be defined as a system of power relationships, were one group tries to deny the other group of power. Whites saw African Americans as their property. They considered them animals and they were inhumane in their eyes. They were considered property because they were black.
Many slaves lived and worked on plantations. The field slaves had …show more content…
The whites did not care what pain the enslaved blacks felt when they were torturing them. In order to reinforce slavery whites constantly used violence such as whipping and killing many slaves. They did this so other blacks would know that whites were superior to them. The slaves were punished for disobeying their master, trying to runaway, being late for getting to the fields, not working fast enough, and just because the white man felt like it. The punishment took in forms of whipping, hanging, torture, mutilation, imprisonment, death, and being sold away from the plantation. The selling of slaves separated many families. Sometimes the mother, father, and children were all separated from each other and had no chance of ever seeing each other again. Slaves who were lucky enough to live with their families, always had to live in fear of being sold away. The black women had to endure the practice of sexual exploitation. There were laws against in place for protection. Many times enslaved black women were sexually stalked, harassed, or raped by masters and/or overseers. Slave men were powerless and could not protect the women. White men with authority took advantage of the situation. In addition to all of this mistreatment, the slaves were forced to live under Slave Codes. A set of laws that stated the limitations of slaves, they varied state to state. “Slaves could not testify in court against a white, make contracts, leave …show more content…
Thousands of slaves ran away, escaping to the north. There were also numerous uprising throughout the period, such as when Nat Turner led seventy slaves in a revolt and killed fifty-seven whites. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794 expanding slavery in the south, needing more slaves to pick more cotton. Slavery played an important role in the economy in the
The term “Antebellum” means before war, this period was particularly before the civil war. During the 19th century (1800-1860), slavery was a major issue. One-third of all southerners during this time lived in bondage. Slavery existed primarily in the south. African Americans were enslaved on farms, small and large plantations, inside homes and out in the fields. Slavery can be defined as a system of power relationships, were one group tries to deny the other group of power. Whites saw African Americans as their property. They considered them animals and they were inhumane in their eyes. They were considered property because they were black.
Many slaves lived and worked on plantations. The field slaves had …show more content…
The whites did not care what pain the enslaved blacks felt when they were torturing them. In order to reinforce slavery whites constantly used violence such as whipping and killing many slaves. They did this so other blacks would know that whites were superior to them. The slaves were punished for disobeying their master, trying to runaway, being late for getting to the fields, not working fast enough, and just because the white man felt like it. The punishment took in forms of whipping, hanging, torture, mutilation, imprisonment, death, and being sold away from the plantation. The selling of slaves separated many families. Sometimes the mother, father, and children were all separated from each other and had no chance of ever seeing each other again. Slaves who were lucky enough to live with their families, always had to live in fear of being sold away. The black women had to endure the practice of sexual exploitation. There were laws against in place for protection. Many times enslaved black women were sexually stalked, harassed, or raped by masters and/or overseers. Slave men were powerless and could not protect the women. White men with authority took advantage of the situation. In addition to all of this mistreatment, the slaves were forced to live under Slave Codes. A set of laws that stated the limitations of slaves, they varied state to state. “Slaves could not testify in court against a white, make contracts, leave …show more content…
Thousands of slaves ran away, escaping to the north. There were also numerous uprising throughout the period, such as when Nat Turner led seventy slaves in a revolt and killed fifty-seven whites. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794 expanding slavery in the south, needing more slaves to pick more cotton. Slavery played an important role in the economy in the