Slavery
African Americans resisted the practice of slavery and the trade of slavery from its inception in the United Stated in the early1600s to its end in the middle 1800s. They resisted it in the fields and in the big house; they resisted by organized rebellions; and they resisted by direct, spontaneous acts of courage. For their freedom slaves killed and were killed. They ran away, and their masters ran after them. They fought and died. They also survived. The conditions of slaves that survived varied. How well they were treated depended on their owner and the type of work they did. The field hands had it the hardest. They worked the longest hours and lived under the worst conditions. They had little clothing and one pair of shoes that had to last them a whole year. They lived in a single room and most had beds made out of straw and old rags. The house slaves, on the other hand, had it a lot better. They often lived in their owner's home and had much more privileges than did the field hands. The house slaves had a better chance of getting freed by their owner. The men usually did the outdoor chores, while the women did more of the domestic duties. While these domestic duties tended to add work to the slave w
Female slaves did not want their children to become slaves, if it was possible at all to avoid it. Many women tried to escape with their children. Some felt that they'd rather kill their children than have them become slaves. A good example of this is Margaret Garner. She and her husband and children escaped with a group of other slaves in the winter on 1856, when the Ohio River was frozen over. They made it to the other side of the river into freedom, but there their pursuers caught up with them. When it became evident to Margaret that they would not remain free, she attempted to kill her children and herself. She slit the throat of her youngest daughter, but was restrained before she could complete the task. She was then returned to her master. Sexual relationships between slave owners and their female slaves were extremely common on the plantations of the south. "These forced sexual relationships most often took the form of cruel beatings and savage rapes. Numerous stories illustrate the brutal whippings, lashings, and bludgeonings masters inflicted upon female slaves who refused to participate in their perverse pleasures" (Marrow p.32). The biggest problem that evolved from the master/female slave sexual relationship was that of the jealous mistress (wife). Th
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ohio River, United Stated, African American, African Americans, Margaret Garner, female slaves, Word Count, domestic duties, slave owners, children slaves, slave songs, house slaves, sexual relationships, female slave, kill children, slave women,
Approximate Word count = 866
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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