Urban slavery revolved around manufacturing; and the primary focus of the plantation was cash crops and staple food crops that fed the primary residents and their slaves. The plantation legend that described life in the South as large plantation homes secured with huge columns and shaded with massive oak trees, and southern belles floating in their silk dresses, overshadows the reality that of the nearly 50,000 plantations known to exist in 1860, less than half of the owners maintained less than one hundred acres of land and usually had fewer than twenty slaves. Some farmers had to balance the cost of slave owning with the profit. Homestead owners usually borrowed or leased ginning equipment and leased slaves from larger slave owners during
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It was also common for slave owners on small farms to generate income by hiring out their slaves to neighboring farms or plantations.
Where they Lived
During the late 1600s to the early 1700s, slaves resided in the slave owner’s house on a kitchen floor or a nearby shed or barn. As slave owners instituted dominance over their slaves, makeshift cabins made out of sticks were built behind the slave owner’s residence. Slaves were usually provided a coarse blanket to cover them on the dirt floor. Cornelia, born a slave in Eden, Tennessee, described her family’s cabin:
John Brown:
Food
Typically, if there was one or two slaves on the homestead, they ate the same food as their owner that was grown and raised on the farm. This food was usually the owner’s leftover foods from the kitchen. Allen Parker, born a slave, explained how the mistress distributed the rations:
Charles Ball, born a slave in Maryland, described how the ration of corn was distributed after the field hands came in from working in the fields from sun up to sun …show more content…
They rarely had opportunities to establish friendships or had relations with the opposite sex. If a slave was hired out to a neighboring plantations they had chances to form brief relationships with other slaves. James Watkins, a slave born in Cokesville, Maryland, described how he frequently snuck to a neighboring plantation to socialize with the slaves; that is, until he got caught:
Free Time
A few slave owners allowed their slaves free time at the end of the workday, on Sundays, and on Christmas day. Some slaves spent this time tending their garden or making repairs to their cabin, if provided. Cornelia, a former slave, described how her father was allowed to make money during his free time:
Some slaves, especially, those that were hired out, often married and had children with slaves on neighboring plantations. In such cases, either with permission or without, they would visit their spouse other once or twice a week. James Pennington, born a slave in Maryland, recalled the stipulations that were placed on slaves when granted permission to visit their family on other homesteads and
It was also common for slave owners on small farms to generate income by hiring out their slaves to neighboring farms or plantations.
Where they Lived
During the late 1600s to the early 1700s, slaves resided in the slave owner’s house on a kitchen floor or a nearby shed or barn. As slave owners instituted dominance over their slaves, makeshift cabins made out of sticks were built behind the slave owner’s residence. Slaves were usually provided a coarse blanket to cover them on the dirt floor. Cornelia, born a slave in Eden, Tennessee, described her family’s cabin:
John Brown:
Food
Typically, if there was one or two slaves on the homestead, they ate the same food as their owner that was grown and raised on the farm. This food was usually the owner’s leftover foods from the kitchen. Allen Parker, born a slave, explained how the mistress distributed the rations:
Charles Ball, born a slave in Maryland, described how the ration of corn was distributed after the field hands came in from working in the fields from sun up to sun …show more content…
They rarely had opportunities to establish friendships or had relations with the opposite sex. If a slave was hired out to a neighboring plantations they had chances to form brief relationships with other slaves. James Watkins, a slave born in Cokesville, Maryland, described how he frequently snuck to a neighboring plantation to socialize with the slaves; that is, until he got caught:
Free Time
A few slave owners allowed their slaves free time at the end of the workday, on Sundays, and on Christmas day. Some slaves spent this time tending their garden or making repairs to their cabin, if provided. Cornelia, a former slave, described how her father was allowed to make money during his free time:
Some slaves, especially, those that were hired out, often married and had children with slaves on neighboring plantations. In such cases, either with permission or without, they would visit their spouse other once or twice a week. James Pennington, born a slave in Maryland, recalled the stipulations that were placed on slaves when granted permission to visit their family on other homesteads and