Southern Slavery Research Paper

Southern slaves prior to the civil war faced many consequences and abuse during their lifetime. When the slaves were taken away they were separated from their families and put on the slave ship. This was a horrid experience for the Africans. Tobacco planting also required fewer slaves on a single farm, Chesapeake slave families were often spread across several plantations once they were sold at auctions. Some of the parents contracted their children to masters under terms that guaranteed the children would be released after a certain amount of years. The enslaved blacks tried to provide for their family members and they would also try to buy back loved ones out of slavery. In the North the slave owners had little interest in family formation …show more content…
In many of the colonies slaves could not participate in wage-earning, trade, or labor. The slave owners provided food, clothing, and shelter. The slaves who did not do what they were told would get scars from the whipping. In about 1860 about 140,000 slaves lived in towns and cities throughout the south. When the urban slaves were put into big hard projects the living conditions sharply deteriorated. The fireplaces in the slave cabins were mad bad and gave off little or no heat. All of the slaves were outside working till sunset. Some of their food consisted of ash-cakes, mush, or dumplings. Some of the education, arts, and culture of the slaves consisted of music. The slaves created a rich musical tradition. Music made by the slaves during this time had a huge impact on the Africans and the development of american music.In Southern plantations gospel and blues were introduced in work songs.The slaves would develope jazz while working through the hard times.The female slaves made quilts and sewed for warmth. The skilled male slaves brought artistic vision to their crafts. During the limited leisure hours, Mostly on sundays and holidays the slaves would get engaged in singing and dancing. The slaves also did folktales, but they were not the only form of cultural expression African slaves brought to America. Education was something that did not really exist for …show more content…
The fugitive slave act forced all citizens to capture the runaway slaves once spotted. This impacted the slaves because it would be harder to get around and run away. The slaves could now only run at night where some of the citizens could not spot them. This was also hard because they had to stay hidden all night because people were watching them. The fugitive slave act was something that was hard for the slaves. There were many hard things that had to accomplish to be able to get out of the plantations without being caught and there many things trying to stop these slaves and the fugitive slave act was one of the main cause of the slaves not being able to escape easily. The underground railroad was not underground nor a railroad. The underground railroad was used by slaved. The slaves would find someone that would help them navigate and get to canada (the abolitionists), then the abolitionists would say to use the word “a friend of a friend” when using the underground railroad and going to the homes with candles in the windows. The slaves would then walk up to houses with the candles and stay there overnight because those were the ones who would invite them into their home trying to help

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