History Essay Sample on Slavery in the 1800s

During the 1800’s, slavery was a big issue in the southern states. Slavery is the condition in which one person is owned as property by another. A slave was forced to work all day long with no breaks. If a slave refused to work or obey orders, they would have to face many harsh punishments. Many of them would be whipped, beaten or even put to death by hanging. Slaves would also receive very little food or water. This led to many illnesses and deaths. Slave owners profited from the misfortune of slaves. 

Many of the slaves were forced to labor in the fields from sun up to sun down. In the text “Slave Labor” by Digital History it states “On a typical plantation, slaves worked ten or more hours a day, from day clean to first dark, six days a week, with only the Sabbath off. At planting or harvesting time, planters required slaves to stay in the fields 15 or 16 hours a day.” This gave the slaves no no time to rest their body, which resulted in them having many body aches and injuries. These injuries and aches got worse as time went on because they were not allowed to receive any treatments. In the text “Conditions of Antebellum Slavery” it states “Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease.” The amount of work provided and the conditions the slaves worked in had an effect on their mental and physical health.

Slaves were punished if they ever went against their owner. In “The Treatment of Slaves in The United States” it states “Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning, mutilation, branding, rape, and imprisonment. Punishment was often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but sometimes abuse was performed to re-assert the dominance of the master (or overseer) over the slave.” If a slave ever attempted to run away they would be hunted and murdered. This instilled fear in the other slaves and nobody would attempt to escape. If the slaves work was not good enough then the slave owners would whip them and leave all marks on there back. Many of their rights were violated and they had no ability to defend themselves.

Slave owners provided very little food and water. Living quarters for the slaves mostly consisted of tiny wooden shacks. In “Slave life and Slave Codes” it states  “Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst.” Slaves had a very difficult living situation. In many instances, groups of slaves were compacted together in one small shack. In the text it also states “The plantation owners provided their enslaved Africans with weekly rations of salt herrings or mackerel, sweet potatoes, and maize, and sometimes salted West Indian turtle.” Many slaves got sick or died from starvation because of the lack of food that was provided to them.

In conclusion, slavery was a huge issue during the 1800’s. There were many deaths and injuries because of the way slaves were treated. The lack of food, resources and punishments all caused many deaths. This still affects many people and families to this day on how their ancestors rights were violated and the overall treatment they received.