Slavery during the Antebellum Period in America Essay Example
Slavery takes away or reduces the ego of an individual to the extent of following all commands and being overly submissive to other people. Researchers have documented how slavery during the antebellum period showed how inhuman a human being could relate to another human being by causing great pain, shame, and suffering. Slaves had very little or no freedom during the antebellum period in America which made them live as lesser human beings whose living solely depended on their masters. It was difficult for the slaves to escape from the mistreatment they received. Historical studies show that the antebellum is the period between the years 1812 and the American Civil War.
The country was at the time divided into different groups that had different perspectives on slavery. Whereas some groups supported slavery, other groups were against the practices due to th
...e negative outcomes associated with the practice. Slavery and mistreatment of the male and female slaves was a sign of the inhuman nature of part of the Americans during the antebellum period. Stereotypes existed in ways the mastered related and allocated duties to male and female slaves. It was difficult for slaves to access enough food.
Comparison
Masters mistreated male and females slaves differently. Female slaves were mistreated more and therefore suffered more pain hunger and humiliation when compared to the male slaves. The harsh mistreatment that was more for women was due to the societal perception of women as relatively inferior when compared to men. Instances arose where women were less respected and therefore given lower favor when compared to women. It was less likely that a female slave would complain to the master. Complaints by women
were less likely to be effected by their masters. Masters valued male slaves more when compared to women due to their ability to perform physically demanding tasks. Masters in most instances had more male than female slaves.
The male slaves performed a larger number of field duties when compared to female slaves. They were viewed as more skilled when compared to women slaves. More women slaves were therefore allocated less skilled tasks when employed by their masters to perform different tasks.
The women suffered more due to their higher vulnerability to sexual harassment. Women, therefore, were likely to receive and to suffer from different forms of sexual abuse compared to men. Most male masters were likely to take advantage of and to view female slaves as sex objects. Women were weak, less defensive and were viewed by their masters as more ignorant. As such their masters took advantage of their weaknesses and hence subjected them to a more inhuman way life without giving them a chance to protect their selves. It was, therefore, more difficult to defend their selves with the fear of suffering more pain and humiliation. Male slaves were less likely to suffer from sexual abuse when compared to women.
Women in the patriarchal society during the antebellum period were viewed as property regardless of their places of origin. Slave breeding was viewed as a way to increase the slave population and consequently the wealth of the masters. Male and female slaves were therefore coerced to sleep together to increase the slave population. Masters also slept with the female slaves who had very little or no choice of freedom. They referred to female slaves stereotypically as
Jezebels which helped them avoid criticism that would arise after violating their rights. Black slaves, on the other hand, were not allowed by white men to have sexual relations with white women. The white women were threatened with societal sections for having any sexual relations with the black slaves.
The whites raped women as part of a strategy that would increase the slave population. Whereas the blacks accused of rape were punished the whites openly abused female slaves without facing the law. As such, the law was subjective on the way the blacks and whites handled females. The female slaves had no protection by law against abuse by their masters. They technically belonged to their mastered that had full authority in the ways they would live and consequently their fate. The masters considered female slaves as lustful and tempting to justify their actions against them. The children born after raping the slaves took the status of their mothers. A very small percentage had the willingness and confidence to oppose slavery during the antebellum period. Women's experiences were clearly different from men's slavery experience during the antebellum period.
Women slaves were subjects both the male and female, white masters. In the patriarchal society during the antebellum period, women had no authority over men and such were less likely to torture the male slaves. Female slaves, therefore, were easy and ready defenseless targets of both the male and white masters. Female slaves suffered more compared to male slaves. Both men and women were subjected to harsh treatment that included living in marginalized quarters and harsh environments. Margret Garner was willing to kill her children for fear that they would
serve as slaves. They were forced to work fasters and submit to their masters. Fredrick Douglas witnessed and wrote that the slaves were children of God who woke up to receive unjust treatment from the master. It was clear according to a description by Lunsford Lane that the whites had a good life that was opposite to that of the slaves.
Bibliography
- Bland, Sterling Lecater. African American Slave Narratives: An Anthology. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2001.
- Boyer, Paul S., Clifford E. Clark, Karen Halttunen, Joseph F. Kett, and Neal Salisbury. The enduring vision: A history of the American people. Cengage Learning, 2013.
- Douglass, Frederick, and Rayford Whittingham Logan. The life and times of Frederick Douglass. Courier Corporation, 2003.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=511 - Mack, Dwayne A., and Emily West. "Chains of Love: Slave Couples in Antebellum South Carolina." (2005): 168-170.
- Mintz, Steven, ed. African American voices: a documentary reader, 1619-1877. Vol. 5. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
- Roth, Sarah N. Gender and Race in Antebellum Popular Culture. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
