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By: Noah
Being a slave during the 1800s was grueling, and often slaves were worked to death. Slavery was most common between 1600 and 1850. Slavery ended after the Civil War, when the Union won freedom for all slaves in all states. Slaves in the 1800s lived in harsh conditions in poorly built huts with their families if they hadn't already been split up by their owners.
Slaves were treated differently depending on where they were working. To begin, there were domestic slaves who worked in the owner's house and were treated better than plantation slaves. Domestic slaves had better living conditions than plantation slaves like better food, as well as reduced and easier work. Domestic slaves were sometimes taken by their owners on trips and other events. In addition, slaves who lived on plantations and farms often had some of the worst treatment. Slaves who worked on plantations were deemed less than human and were treated as such, enduring beatings and harsh punishments. They also had awful food, usually consisting of old dried meat and bread. Finally, slaves who lived on salt plantations were treated the worst of all. These slaves had to stand knee-deep in saltwater from before the sun rose to well after it set. The combination of standing in salt water all day and then working in the sun the next day made large blisters on their legs and caused a lot of pain when walking. “A day may come — it will come... — a terrible day of vengeance, when the master in his turn will cry in vain for mercy” (Solomon Northup), this quote shows the feelings slaves had for their masters on these plantations. In Conclusion, the treatment of slaves during the 1800s was inhumane, and the places where slaves lived affected their treatment drastically.
Slaves didn't always get along with each other on plantations. First of all, slaves were sometimes put in charge of other slaves. These slaves were called drivers, they were used in place of an overseer. Overseers were the people put in charge of getting the most work out of slaves. This often meant harsh punishments if work wasn't done on time. Slaves were usually tempted into becoming slave drivers with extra food or fewer work hours. In addition, slave drivers were hated by other slaves. This is because of the harsh treatment that slave drivers gave them. Slave drivers and slaves often got into big arguments with each other, which sometimes led to fighting. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves”. Finally, slaves were often tired and overworked. This meant slaves were more prone to argue with each other and cause fights. The fact that slave drivers were treated better than them did not help with the tension between some slaves. In conclusion, slaves were sometimes hated by other slaves.
Slave families were treated very harshly during the 1800s. First of all, slave families were oftentimes split up when they reached America. Solomon Northrup was a slave during the 1800s and witnessed the separation of a mother and daughter while being sold. Northrup recalls the following: “Freeman [the slave broker] sternly ordered [the mother] to be quiet, but she did not heed him. Then with a volley of great oaths he struck her such a heartless blow, that she staggered backward, and was like to fall. Oh! How piteously then did she beseech and beg and pray that they not be separated” (crf-usa.org), this further proves the harsh tendencies of slave owners and traders. In addition, slaves lived in poorly built quarters. Their houses consisted of poorly built huts that leaked whenever it rained and with little to no insulation it was very hot in the summers and extremely cold in the winters. These huts were usually the old broken-down house that the owner previously used. To end, slaves had little to no time to spend with friends or family. Slaves worked from early in the morning to well into the night doing difficult tasks. This, more often than not, meant no time to spend with their friends or families because if they didn't sleep they would be punished for doing less work the next day. In conclusion, slaves lived in some of the worst conditions with their families.
The poorly built huts the slaves lived in, the way they were treated, and the harsh situations slaves had to live through were very commonplace on most plantations. This sad truth is that though slavery was the reason the Civil War started, a lot of slaves did not live to see the freedom they won in the 1800s. Though slavery was abolished after the Civil War, the damage it did by dividing families and the memory of the harsh treatment during the time of slavery has never faded away.
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