Case Study: The Peculiar Institution
Tarek Thebarge
Mrs. Franco
U.S. History A.P.
17 September 2014
The “Peculiar Institution” “Simultaneously, the slave population burgeoned, roughly doubling every thirty years” (180). Between the year 1790 and 1850 the slave population grew from 700,000 to 3.2 million. Although importation of slaves from Africa was banned in 1808, they still gained more and more slaves from reproduction. While they began to use machines in the North, in the Southern states, they continued to use slaves on plantations to plant crops. The Southerners believed it was okay to own slaves and abuse them, which was a peculiarity to others. Slaves did not agree with this system because they did not have the same rights as the whites. Slaves relied too heavily on their …show more content…
Most slaves did not attempt to escape slavery because they relied too much on their master and thought of them as a father figure. For example, the master supplied them with shelter, food, and a job, which they thought was all they could get. They also believed everything that the whites preached to them, because they did not know any better. On the other hand, masters frightened their slaves because they would be abused if they did not work hard enough. Many slave owners also did not allow slaves to pray. If slaves did hear a preacher, it was a message that they had to obey their masters, and that they should think of themselves as the equal of other animals, and not humans who could go to heaven. “‘Now I takes my text, which is, Nigger obey your master and your mistress, ‘cause what you git from them here in this world am all you ever going to git, ‘cause you just like the hogs and the other animals-when you dies you ain’t no more, after you been throwed in that hole.’” The slaves could, and wanted to outsmart their masters and came up with interesting ways to trick them to receive more food or escape overwork. An example of this would be a story told by a slave about a partridge tricking a fox to acquire all the food. This story is an example of how the slaves would trick their master to receive more food. Another example would be a story about when a group of slaves fooled their master to attain good meat instead of diseased meat. Additionally a group of slaves dug their master a deep grave when he died so that he could be closer to hell. Finally, a story is written about a slave insulting his master, and calling him a jackass. The slaves’ hatred toward their master indicates that their way of life was
Mrs. Franco
U.S. History A.P.
17 September 2014
The “Peculiar Institution” “Simultaneously, the slave population burgeoned, roughly doubling every thirty years” (180). Between the year 1790 and 1850 the slave population grew from 700,000 to 3.2 million. Although importation of slaves from Africa was banned in 1808, they still gained more and more slaves from reproduction. While they began to use machines in the North, in the Southern states, they continued to use slaves on plantations to plant crops. The Southerners believed it was okay to own slaves and abuse them, which was a peculiarity to others. Slaves did not agree with this system because they did not have the same rights as the whites. Slaves relied too heavily on their …show more content…
Most slaves did not attempt to escape slavery because they relied too much on their master and thought of them as a father figure. For example, the master supplied them with shelter, food, and a job, which they thought was all they could get. They also believed everything that the whites preached to them, because they did not know any better. On the other hand, masters frightened their slaves because they would be abused if they did not work hard enough. Many slave owners also did not allow slaves to pray. If slaves did hear a preacher, it was a message that they had to obey their masters, and that they should think of themselves as the equal of other animals, and not humans who could go to heaven. “‘Now I takes my text, which is, Nigger obey your master and your mistress, ‘cause what you git from them here in this world am all you ever going to git, ‘cause you just like the hogs and the other animals-when you dies you ain’t no more, after you been throwed in that hole.’” The slaves could, and wanted to outsmart their masters and came up with interesting ways to trick them to receive more food or escape overwork. An example of this would be a story told by a slave about a partridge tricking a fox to acquire all the food. This story is an example of how the slaves would trick their master to receive more food. Another example would be a story about when a group of slaves fooled their master to attain good meat instead of diseased meat. Additionally a group of slaves dug their master a deep grave when he died so that he could be closer to hell. Finally, a story is written about a slave insulting his master, and calling him a jackass. The slaves’ hatred toward their master indicates that their way of life was