How Did Unsanitary Conditions Differ From Slavery

Medicine Among the Slaves The conditions that the slaves lived in bolstered the epidemic of diseases among them. Slaves lived in squalor and vileness on plantations in the South. Illnesses were often caused by these conditions. A slave’s condition has been described as,
. . . the health of plantation slaves was far worse than that of whites. Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease. Illnesses were generally not treated adequately, and slaves were often forced to work even when sick. (“Conditions of Antebellum Slavery”)
The slaves lived in unsanitary conditions, so they were more susceptible to diseases. Although whites and blacks shared many of the same diseases in the nineteenth century, the disease-ridden surroundings were due to the lack of cleanliness provided by the slaves. According to information collected by Doctor Edward Carmichael from slave owners, it is claimed that while diseases were both experienced among whites and
Owners of slaves tried to cure them themselves before trying to call for a doctor. They used many different methods, such as herbs, bloodletting, and blistering to try and restore health to their slaves. In November of 1817, a slave owner named Charles R. Bataille, in a letter, wrote, “‘I have a very sick woman who was taken a few days since, with fever, pain in the head, and slight delirium . . . I bled her for cold, Gave her a dose of Calomel and castor oil, also blistered but without any abatement as yet of symptoms’”(“The Carmichaels and the Health Care to Slaves”). The slave owner’s wishes for them to recover was high and their need for slaves was important to their plantation. Slaves were a proponent to profit and an efficient farm for the owners. Therefore, it was most beneficial to try and cure sick slaves, which was often done by their