American Slaves

American Slaves

Slavery was perhaps one of the greatest peculiar institutions of the South. It was a system of labor extortion that the slaves had to endure albeit with enormous resentment they had for it. They probably directed their resentment and reservations to their masters, but it is unknown whether they found satisfaction from their situation. Slavery proponents stated that the slaves found satisfaction from bondage and servitude because their masters treated them with kindness, and relieved them all the responsibilities of free men (Stampp, 86). However, this premise undermines the fact that most slaves lived in slavery since their birth and had never known life outside bondage. There are all indications that slaves merely tolerated their situation due to their lack of control. The slaves devised various ways such as positive action, open resistance, self-imposed ignorance, limiting their work load, flight, crime and legal avenues to deal with their situation proving that they “seldom wore their shackles lightly” (Stampp, 92).

A good number expressed their discontent through positive action. They submitted to their master because that is the only thing they could do. Some showed resistances towards their masters, “even the most passive slaves, usually before they reached middle age, flared up in protest now and then” (Stampp, 92). Slave masters considered resistance in slaves a “bad character” and it made them a liability to their owners. As one of the slave masters affirmed, ‘slaves were a “troublesome property”’ (Stampp, 92).

The slave also employed self-impose ignorance in order to cope with their situation. Ignorance is a character that slavery had taught them. As one planter noted, “slavery tended to make him callous to the ideas of honor and even honesty” (Stampp, 98). Slaves had a sound reason for letting their masters underestimate their intelligence because ignorance was highly valued. The slave master intent was to keep the slave in the state of ignorance and, therefore, the slaves were very shrewd to let the master believe they had succeeded (Stampp, 98). A planter from Virginia also noted, from his own experience, that “the slaveholders were victimized by the “sagacity” of the slaves who they mistakenly thought they understood so well” (98). They knew slaves as fool a notion that slaves frequently used as an apology for neglect of duty.

Similarly, slaves chose to limit their service in many ways. The slaves stubbornly fixed their work quotas and resisted any attempt to increase their daily outputs. Some refused to learn a craft and becoming craftsmen, while others would fill their cotton with heavy material to increase the cotton bags’ weight and cover up for loafing. Slave masters noted the pushing a slave to work beyond the limit he sets for himself was never productive. One slave master added that, “the use of force might cause a slave to work still more slowly until he fell “into a state of impassivity” in which he became “insensible and indifferent to punishment or even to life” (101).

The slave also feigned sickness in order to avoid working. A famous writer, Olmsted reported one or more bondsmen complaining on every farm he visited in the south yet their master said they suspected the bondsmen ware feigning sickness to avoid labor (103). Some slaves pretended to be handicapped or paralyzed. For instance, a slave on a Mississippi plantation convinced his master that he was blind and escaped labor for years. However, after the civil war he produced over eighteen crops for himself and became one of the best farmers in the country (104).

Similarly, some slaves chose to run away to avoid being overworked, sold or transferred to places distant from their families (113). Some ran away to avoid punishment and for their misdeed. Some of the runaways successful went to the north, to Canada or to other places where slavery wasn’t server. Some forged passes that enabled them to live as free men and women while the unlucky ones were recaptured.

The slaves also indulged in crime such stealing their masters’ property. Such property could be consumed by the slaves themselves or could be sold to whites or free Blacks in exchange for liquor, tobacco or a small amount of money with which they could buy what they needed (Stampp, 126). Stealing was a sign of discontentment by the slaves who dislike the standards of living imposed on them (Stampp, 127). Slaves also practiced arson (127) by burning building and crops, self-sabotage, committed suicide while some murdered their masters.

Some slaves pursued legal interventions. Stampp (94) reports that southern courts records hold countless suits in behalf of slaves who claimed that they were being held in bondage illegally. These included claims “that they had been kidnapped, or that a female ancestor had been free, or that had been emancipated by a will or any other legal document” (94). Slave also applied pressure to their masters demanding emancipation upon their masters’ deaths. Stampp (95) notes that “bondsmen occasional persuaded their master to make this philanthropic gesture, or promised faithful service as part of an agreement leading to eventual emancipation.” A few ambitious bondsmen made deals with their masters allowing them to work and buy their freedom.

In conclusion, it is notable that the tricks employed by the salves show that they did not enjoy bondage. They were merely victims of a system they could not control. To make their situation somehow bearably the devised trick to limit exploitation, torture, and better the living standards.

Work cited

Stampp. “A Troublesome Property.” 86-140.