Family Slavery In America

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African Americans underwent various slavery experiences depending on their geographic location in the United States. Much like the society we live in today, factors such as religion and willingness to accept differences affected the lifestyles slaves lived. For instance, slavery in northern cities varied greatly from plantation based slavery in the southern regions. Due to this variety of experiences, the quality of slave lives could be incredibly different, even though they were all on the same coast. Societal mentalities regarding slavery varied differently regionally, and this had a profound effect on the treatment, responsibilities, and labor options a slave had. Before arriving to the United States, slaves traveled through the Middle …show more content…
The harsh winter climate of Massachusetts meant that snowstorms were abundant, and vast open plantations were not suitable for labor. Because of this, the family slavery model was instituted. Under the family slavery model, an individual slave would live in the same house as his/her’s master. Owner’s could not justify building separate quarters for their slaves, since families did not own scores of slaves such as in the plantation model. This seems like a wonderful alternative to the harsh plantation-based slavery that occurred in the south, but it came with its own set special set of hardships. At auction, before the individual was shipped off to their new owners, a slave may have advertised their practical skills in front of a buyer in order to hopefully be placed in a relatively more hospitable environment. Once in the harsh northern countryside, however, isolation and alienation were experienced by the slave, since he/she was completely surrounded by white oppressors both at home and in their working environment. Therefore, there was no real sense of community for the slave, due to the fact that there was hardly anybody else in the near vicinity undergoing the same situation. This often meant that an individual slave worked alone in their trade on a day to day basis, perhaps as a carpenter, blacksmith, or other artisan. Additionally, unlike southern slavery, since slaves in the northern countryside …show more content…
The masters gifted each slave two sets of clothes, one for the winter and one for the summer months. Materials used to make the articles of clothing were not of the highest quality, they were usually cotton or wool. On the contrary, a slave that worked inside the house on the plantation was gifted higher quality hand me downs from the owners. This luxury comes at the expense of being under the whim of the family constantly, all the while fearing the chance of being sexually assaulted. Furthermore, children born on the plantation were not gifted regular clothes. Rudimentary garments were much more common for this age group, shirts and shifts were gifted to the young ones once they were old enough. Shoes were never something the slaves had access
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