Master-Slave Relationship In Southern United States

One complication that came from a sexual relationship between a master and a slave would be if the slave

Most slave owners or individuals that agreed with slavery thought that Paternalism was a good thing. Paternalism to them was that they were doing to salves a favor, owning them was in the slave’s best interest, but to African American it was a different story. They felt like they had to not only depend on their salve owners, but they had to depend on them for their survival. The slaves fate where depended

Yes their attitudes did change after they actually had to experience the work that their former slaves did. The mistresses started to miss their slaves because now they saw that the work was much harder then they thought. But not all the mistresses' attitudes changed, some still felt that the slaves were still lower then them. Saying that they aren't suppose to be doing this kind of work, that this kind of work was low and only for the slaves to do. They said that the slaves were low just like the work which is why they did such a good job at it. But overall, attitudes did change and most whites saw that the work was actually hard and that they needed the slaves.

In a time period when women were considered inferior, as were blacks, it was unimaginable the horrors a black woman in the south had to endure during this period. African women were slaves and subject to the many horrors that come along with being in bondage, but because they were also women, they were subject to the cruelties of men who look down on women as inferior simply because of their sex. The sexual exploitation of these females often lead to the women fathering children of their white masters. Black women were also prohibited from defending themselves against any type of abuse, including sexual, at the hands of white men. If a slave attempted to defend herself she was often subjected to further beatings from the master. The black female was forced into sexual relationships for the slave master’s pleasure and profit. By doing this it was the slave owner ways of helping his slave population grow.

For the most part, masters made young, single slaves the objects of their sexual pursuits. They did on occasion rape married women. The inability of the slave husband to protect his wife from such violation points to another fundamental aspect of the relationship between enslaved

Philip D. Morgan argues that although masters continued to “emphasize order and authority, they were more inclined emphasize their solicitude toward and generous treatment of their dependents.” (Morgan). With this being said, it exemplifies that not only did the apparent shift affect slaves, but also the master’s children. In a typical 18th century household, the man saw over everyone,

Often times when talking about the institution of slavery in the United States of America, men are at the center of the discussion; whether they were owners or slaves, men are presented first. Black women are pushed in the background except for the most famous like Harriet Tubman and Sally Hemings. In North America, specifically the United States, more than six hundred thousand slaves were brought in from Africa and the Caribbean between 1620 and 1865, the laws regarding slaves were condensed into slave codes that varied from state to state. Female slaves usually received the worst of it. Abusing them was legal, since the were considered property and as long as the owner wanted, he could have his way with any women he chooses on the plantation. Female slave were subject to harsh punishment for refusing the advances of the master. As one of, if not, the most vulnerable group in America at the time, female slaves had more threats to their existence than black men.

In the story about Mary Prince, she had several owners. Mrs. Williams one of Mary Prince’s first owners was described as kind-hearted good women, who treated all her slaves well (Prince 7). Mr. Williams was described as an abusive husband, I think this may be the reason why she treated her slaves with so much kindness. Mary Prince had another owner by the name of Mr.D. Mr.D lived in Grand Quay, a small town, where he had owned a salt pound (Prince 19). Mr. D received profits for having slaves work in his salt pound. When he would beat Mary or order her to be punished she would describe him as being emotionless (Prince 20). The fact that Mr.D was running a business lead me to believe he could not show any weakness towards the slaves. This type of mentality would perhaps make the slaves fear him greater than the typical slave owner and raise the level of productivity of the slaves in fear of being beaten with no remorse. Even though this seems inhuman, it was also Mr.D’s livelihood to ensure the slaves were continuing to work

In Celia, a Slave, written by Melton A. McLaurin, the relationships of race, gender, sexuality, power, law, and slavery in the antebellum South is revealed by Celia’s case. In antebellum South, many things dictated a person’s worth, but the race of a person was the number one factor. If a person was of a race other than Caucasian, such as being Black, then he or she would live in the United States as one of two classifications: slave or freed slave. Of these two classifications, both were thought as being subpar humans when compared to white citizens. Due to these beliefs regarding Blacks, slave and free, Blacks themselves were unable to protect themselves from slave masters and in most legal standings (McLaurin 137). This means that Blacks did not have the same citizenship as white people because a slave was not a citizen in the eyes of the law but the human property of his or her master. Gender is the second idea that dictated a person’s worth and character. Males, white particularly, always held more power and sexual control over the women of the antebellum South. White women, when married, became the legal property of her husband (139). Even if a woman was not married, then she was still considered the property of her father and under his protection until she was given away. For example, Virginia Waynescot and Mary Newsome both lived with their father, Robert Newsome (10-11). By living with their father, the two daughters basically handed over their power because Robert

Paternalism is the idea that slavery benefits African Americans because they are unable to take care of themselves. However, even if this is to be assumed true it is not because African Americans are genetically or otherwise biologically inferior to caucasians but rather that they have been manipulated to appear weaker. For example, African American slaves appeared to be unintelligent because they often spoke broken English and were illiterate. While some may have interpreted this to mean that African Americans were not intelligent enough to "speak properly," their verbal skills were a reflection of their lack of formal education. It would be asinine to presume slaves could learn these skills on their own, especially considering that it was often illegal to educate

One of the most common moral defenses of slavery was that slaves were being kept in better conditions than they would be if they had legitimate, paying jobs. For example, once slaves had grown too old to complete hard labor in the fields, they could be brought into the house, where they could be more comfortable working less strenuous jobs. Whereas a paid field worker would be fired once they grew too old to work. What this defense didn 't take into account was the horrible conditions that many slaves lived in their entire lives, and the physical, mental and emotional toll that these conditions took. For example, many slave owners allowed their overseers to hit workers who they believed were disobedient, or who just weren 't working fast enough. Female slaves were routinely sexually abused, and were punished for attempting to protect themselves. This kind of physical abuse would create an atmosphere of fear

Women slaves endured far worse punishment and cruelty than men ever did. Lets begin with women’s duties. Their duties consisted of two parts. The first part was that of being a household servant. They did the cleaning, cooking, cared for the white children of their Mistress and Master, and other household duties. Secondly, slave women had to not only maintain the household, at times, they were also expected to work in the fields and slave like the men on the plantations. Things like picking cotton, cleaning outside, feeding animals, and hoeing the grounds for planting crops. Slave men were never made to perform women duties.

The power and authority given to overseers on plantations in the Antebellum South often led to a misuse of power, particularly in regards to enslaved young women. Overseers were slaves chosen by the master to control the fields on bigger plantations to keep the slaves in line and on task. However, sometimes this power led to abuse. An unnamed slave told of a young girl he knew who caught the eye of one of the overseers on the plantation she worked on. Her mother told her to stay away from him because she knew what he would do to her if she did not. In the field he

Slaves were not usually treated with respect in the households they worked in, most of the time, slaves were treated horribly. They would be raped, beaten, teased, whipped, and were victims of many cruel and unusual punishments that are unimaginable to the human race present day. Family was the most important thing to the African culture. Brothers tried their hardest to look over their younger sisters as best as possible. Old women and men with no family members to turn to, looked to the comfort of nieces, nephews, and cousins when they fell ill, and aunts and uncles played a primary part in the family as well. Men were not the only ones that were forced to take part in daily labor and routines but also women and children. Some slaves were assigned outside work in which they would tend the crops and more commonly known work the plantations on their masters estate. Women were more commonly assigned to kitchen work such as cleaning the houses, washing clothes, cooking meals, working as servants, and tending to the masters each and every need. Most women who worked in the houses were brutally raped by their masters whether or not they were married to a man or not. Although most women worked in a home setting, there were some women who did work outside with the men and children. Work was difficult on the slaves and their masters were not empathetic towards them in

It will also seek to identify the nature of sexual relationships between masters and their slaves. Jacobs describes an incident when at about 12 years old her mistress had died . She explains that she and her mistress had an amicable relationship. Her mistress had taught her that God’s word required one to love one’s neighbor as themselves and hoped that her mistress would release her from bondage. Her mistress had however bequeathed her to her five year old niece. This act caused her much grief and made it clear that her late mistress did not quite consider her a neighbor.