Today, slavery is not something you see in modern day society. For the most part, people are treated fairly while working, are given benefits such as holidays and the option to take a sick day when feeling ill, and are paid a good wage for their services as an employee. But unfortunately this was not the case back in the 1800s where slavery was popular among the southern parts of the United States.
How It Started
Slavery grew in the 1800s due to the demand for more workers to help on plantations, particularly in the southern states. The northern states didn't need slaves because they didn't have as many large farms as the south did. These slaves were imported by large ships from Africa and sent all over the world such as Portuguese America, British America (minus North America), Spanish Empire, French Americas, British North America, English Americas, Dutch West Indies, and Danish West Indies. [1] These plantation slaves planted and picked cotton from sunrise until sunset. They worked the longest out of all the slaves.
In the homes of the slave owners, they had house slaves. These slaves were generally treated better by the slave owner and their family. They did jobs such as household tasks like doing the dishes and doing the laundry. Often these slaves were treated as one of the family because they were always in the house helping.
Some slaves trained to become factory workers, construction workers, working on canals or on roads. They also became dockworkers, office workers, riverboat pilots, and lumber jacks. [2]
There were many different types of slave owners. Some were very nice to their slaves and often rewarded them with money or gifts. But there were also very cruel slave owners who harshly punished their slaves on a regular basis. But in some cases when a nice slave owner died, they would leave in their will that their slaves were free to go and then they would go on to thank them for their loyalty and hard work. [3]
Treatment Of Slaves
The treatment of slaves back in the 18th century was very poor. They worked from sunrise until sunset, no matter what the weather conditions were, or the state of their health. Even the young and the elderly were forced to work as well. They hardly ever got days off, only on Sundays and holidays that were not frequent, such as Christmas.
After a long day of working, slaves then had personal free time. This is the time that they used to make food and...