Post 4: Almanacs

Alyssa Kraus

American Nation: Deep South

1788 Almanac: http://find.gale.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CB3332180099&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE

It is no secret that slavery is an ugly truth in American history. Enslaved people were sold, abused, and killed by white citizens, all due to the color of their skin. Although the entire nation is to blame for the mistreatment of African people, the Deep South in particular was a proud advocate for slavery. This horrid history of slaves in the Deep South can be found and further examined within the 1788 almanac for South Carolina and Georgia, which discusses the duties on imported goods – one of such goods being African slaves.

This section of the almanac, titled “Duties on Importation,” reviews the taxes collected on American imports. The almanac mentions several common goods, such as alcohol, sugar, cocoa, and coffee. However, the taxed imports also include slaves. Not to mention, slaves were the first imported good cited on the list, underscoring their popularity and importance in southern culture. With slaves listed before wines and sugars, it is clear where the interests of American southerners lingered.

Furthermore, the almanac shares the taxation rates “per head on negroes directly from Africa, of four feet and upwards” (“The Palladium of knowledge” 20). Thus, the worth of slaves – which was assumed to be very little – was determined by their height and origin. Slaves were not viewed as anything but objects, and they were scrutinized from the moment they were enslaved. Furthermore, the writer continues, stating, “10s. per head on all negroes under that height (sucking children expected)” (20). In this excerpt, the writer of the almanac is calling attention to infants that could also be imported along with their mothers. Thus, American people taxed the importation of innocent and unaware children, tearing them from their families. Overall, these two quotes highlight the way African people were viewed as objects, rather than people. They were sold, based upon their height, age, and origin – something which highlights the inhumane slave culture of the Deep South.

In addition, the vulgar mistreatment of slaves is apparent in the way the almanac utilizes synecdoche in the provided excerpts. The import duties on slaves are “per head,” which represents the slaves by merely their head and ignores the fact that they are humans with bodies much like other Americans (20). If Americans were to acknowledge the working, familiar bodies of slaves, then they would have to acknowledge a slave’s humanity. Thus, this was actively overlooked. In fact, slaves were often referred to by their hands, due to the nature of their work in fields. The Constitutional Rights Foundation reported that slaves in the Deep South, known as “field hands,” were required to pick cotton for hours on end, often resulting in poor health and injuries (Constitutional Rights Foundation).

The importance of examining slavery within this 1788 almanac is twofold. First, this passage about import taxes on slaves helps readers gather contextual evidence to better understand the almanac as a whole. By acknowledging the culture of the Deep South in South Carolina and Georgia, readers will better comprehend the rest of the almanac’s content. Second, this evidence of slavery allows readers to have hard-hitting conversations about violence and enslaved people in American history. By recognizing the mistakes this country made, even in small pieces like a section of an almanac, people will be more willing to educate themselves on racism and discrimination.

Works Cited

The Palladium of knowledge; or, The Carolinian and Georgian almanac, for the year of our Lord, 1788 … Charleston [S.C.], 1787. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. University of Maryland College Park. 16 Oct. 2020 <http://find.gale.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CB3332180099&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE>.

Constitutional Rights Foundation. “Slavery in the American South.” Constitutional Rights Foundation, www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/slavery-in-the-american-south.