Life+of+Slaves+in+Antebellum+America


 * __Life Of Slaves In Antebellum America__**

//Living Conditions Slaves were members of the lowest and poorest ranks of society. Slaves could not take part in wage-earning-labor or trade. Because of that slaves depended heavily on their masters and so they remained in horrid living conditions. The shacks that they lived in had dirt floors and the walls were often in a very poor condition, offering little protection from weather. The shacks usually housed two large families and it was very overcrowded. There was no furniture and the beds were of nothing more that straw and rags. Ventilation was very poor and windows were covered with only thin shutters. Living conditions were horrible for slaves. //

Clothing Slaves in America were given a minimal amount of clothing. Men and boys were often only given given a skirt and women were usually given a plain dress. Women most likely wore a head wrap which symbolized their poverty and inferiority. In some areas and plantations, it was a requirement for enslaved females to wear the head wrap. Slaves were not allowed any choice of clothing and forced to wear specific things.

//Work// Some slaves worked in the fields while other slaves worked in the house as a servant or assistant. In the fields slaves picked and planted crops such as cotton, rice,tobacco, and sugar. They worked long days from sunrise to sunset. Women, men, and children all worked the same hours and children started working when they were five years old. Plantations had overseers who watched the slaves as they worked. If a slave was not working hard enough the overseer would whip the slave to make him or her work harder. The working conditions were very tiring and in some cased difficult. For example, while picking rice in rice fields slaves had to stand in water where there were dangerous animals and disease. House slaves had better conditions because they received better food and did not have to work in the fields. House slave jobs included maids, cooks, butler, coachmen, and personal servants. Whatever job you had, work was always tiring and difficult.

//Food Slaves worked long hours with barely enough food to survive. Their diets were very limited and lacked important nutrients. They usually had two meals a day that often consisted of cornmeal, salt herring, and pork. Because of this very poor diet, slaves usually found some of their own food as well. Some men would hunt animals to get more protein in their diets. Women would pick berries or keeps small gardens behind their shacks that are called "truck gardens." But even with the small gardens, food was minimal and some slaves died of starvation. //