House Slave Codes Should Be Abolished Essay

William Gibbon
History
Final Essay
5/22/14
To be a slave to anyone would be a nightmare but some conditions were better than others. If a slave were lucky they may get a master would is somewhat kind and care little about them. If a slave were unlucky one may be beaten, raped and just broken by their master. To be a house slave would be the best circumstances while working in the field or plantation would be the worst for a slave. House slaves for the most part had it better than the others slaves. The physical conditions of a house slave were much better than one working outside because to owner does not want a “dirty” slave in their home. This cause the master to give the house slave old clothes that they do not use anymore while other
slave were given cloths base on the amount of work they were able to do. Old slave and small children were not given proper clothing because they cannot work as hard as other slaves. “Whereas many field workers were not given sufficient clothing to cover their bodies, house slaves tended to be dressed with more modesty” (source one). Again being a house slave would be the best choice for a slave because they get special treatment. The House slave also was able to eat more healthy food because they worked in the home while the field slave may only eat once a day. “The diets, high in fat and starch, were not nutritionally sound and could lead to ailments, including scurvy and rickets” (source 1). The human needs a balance diet in order to grow and work properly. A slave may get lucky and have a master who pays out of their pocket for fresh food but this was highly unlikely because many of the plantation owners were mean and unkind. The day to day live of slave was hard but no one had it harder than those would work outside all day. The house slave did work a lot but the amount of work they would have to do is very different from the amount the field slave would have to work. The house slave would run errands and be able to go about like they were a free citizen while the field workers feared of getting beaten by their master or the groundskeeper. “An ordinary day’s work is two hundred pounds.... The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as if is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes” (source 2). It’s hard to think of a work place that would make you work from sun up to sun down with no brakes. The slave was worked to death 7 days a week but for some slave their master may allow one day off for resting or allow some to go to church. The average slave was always in fear of not working hard enough because they did not want to get whipped. If a slave did not serve up to the standards that were meant for them they were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning and mutilation. The day to day life was hard of a slave but noting was harder than the thought of never being free. Slaves were rarely allowed freedom because of many slave codes put in place.
A slave code is a law in each U.S. state, which defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters. These codes gave slave-owners absolute power over the enslaved. Slave codes were different and vied from state to state but for the most part this is what the law included. “Legally considered property, slaves were not allowed to own property of their own. They were not allowed to assemble without the presence of a white person. Slaves that lived off the plantation were subject to special curfews” Slave codes were hard for all slaves it was no different if you were a house slave or a field slave. The slave code made it so those slaves were powerless in court or in any situation for that matter. The slave code enforce harsh punishment for a disorientate slave if one were to hit a white many they would be killed. If they were out at night with their master they would be killed. If slave had relations with a white woman they were killed. If a black woman was raped by another white man the master can only have then charged with the trespassing of that person. For a slave one of the hardest things must have been unable to receive an education Slave codes had ruinous effects on African American society. It was illegal to teach a slave to read or write that is the worst thing
possible. In all Slavery is not good but some time if one had a nice master one could live a somewhat nice life. The house slave had it best while the filed slave has it the worst. The only way a slave can being free was by running away t=and if caught one would die. Clothing was given once a year making it hard during winter. One can conclude that house slave did have it better.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/experience/living/history2.html
http://www.ushistory.org/us/6f.asp