How Does Slavery Affect Women

Women and Slavery
There are many misconceptions about how slavery affected women. Slavery was different for women residing in the North and South and both slave and free women had unique experiences based on their location. Female slaves had some of the longest work days, as their work was never done, and faced challenging circumstances that male slaves would never encounter. Inversely, female slave owners also had varied experiences and diverse relationships with those in their property. All these women had at least one thing in common; questioning the practice of slavery. Women are commonly overlooked in the study of slavery but they played a part in slavery and the anti-slavery movement. Slavery affected all aspects of women’s lives
Where a white woman lived also affected how they handled slavery. Southern women from better families were brought up to not do household chores or heavy work, all that fell to their slaves. Poorer families usually were doing the work of the slaves or next to the one slave they could afford. Whether rich or poor life in the south was true patriarchy, women were commonly left on their own, and the isolation was suffocating.6 While many women in the south would not speak against slavery, as they enjoyed the life it made for them, their opinions were mixed, and most were not in favor.7 It was common for them to free favorite slaves in their wills and were the ones looking after their wellbeing. Southern women had the responsibility of making sure the slaves were clothed and housed, a task Northern woman did not have to handle.8 Many women felt overworked by the added responsibility and feared what would happen if the slaves needed punishment or ran
Absent were the plantations or farms that kept slaves in the fields all day. Northern women saw the cruelty of slavery and wanted to stop the practice of breaking up families and the sexual molestation of female slaves.9 While the north was still deeply influenced by the cult of domesticity, women were still signing petitions and attending or speaking at public meetings. Additionally, the money raised by women was relied on by the abolitionist.10 In addition to white women, middle-class black women were heavily involved in antislavery movements. While black and white women were working hard within the movement, some women were taking it farther. These women saw the importance of an education for all people, an idea that was not widely accepted at the time. There were several women that wanted young black women to have a chance at an education. These women saw the importance of knowledge, as mothers, no matter their race, they were educating their children. They saw the need for all women to be educated to improve the next generation. 11 While education was not foremost on all abolitionists minds; freedom was. The Northern movement was influenced heavily by Quakers. Many of them worked diligently to help slaves get to freedom, as the viewed the bondage of humans as against God’s