What Were Enslaved African Americans In The 1800s

During the 1800s there was no common black experience, as the lifestyle of African Americans varied depending upon the circumstances of which they were under. At this time, black people were commonly mistreated by white Americans. There was a portion of African Americans who were enslaved and a portion of them that were free. Given that those that were enslaved were to be considered the property of their white slave owners, slaves were subjected to much harsher conditions by them. Enslaved African Americans would have to endure both physiological and physical abuse by their white slave owners and work long hours on plantations for financial gain (Corbett et al., 2014). Compared to the portion of African Americans who were enslaved, freed African Americans were able to live a better lifestyle that
Black communities' churches would serve as a place where African Americans would be able to become better educated, politically engaged, and connected to one another (Lee, 2024). “In the north it was common to see that African Americans could read and possess certain specialized skills for doing different jobs” (Lee, 2014). This differs significantly from African Americans who were enslaved at the time, as they were suppressed from growing their knowledge and developing family bonds. Notably during this time black abolitionists, such as Fedrick Douglas and Henry Highland Garnet, had advocated for the freedom of enslaved African Americans and would use of their knowledge to create works that opposed it. It is also known that freed black people had to find ways to support themselves within both Northern and Southern states. Former slaves, like Andrew Durnford and William Ellison, are known for advancing into society through enslaving black people to labor on their plantations (Corbett et al., 2014). Other black Americans sought out employment opportunities to support