Slavery- Inside the Torment

       Slavery was a time of pain, frustration, and constrictions. There were so many rules and restrictions put on the lives of African Americans. They were treated as objects or pets to be sold and bought whenever their masters pleased.
  

  They suffered through many hardships, consisting of...

• whipping and beating (were killed if they fought back)
• the separation of their families
• all rights are taken away (including free market, freedom of speech,etc.)
• weren't allowed to be educated
• got a myriad of diseases
• sometimes even beat by the own kind (drivers)
• lived in horrible conditions
• malnourishment

 Some additional Facts...

•  Black men married white women, ensuring that their children would be born free.
• The nature of the slave family depended on what type of farm they lived in. For example larger farms, such as rice plantations, would most likely keep the family together. This is because with larger plantations, more slaves are needed.
• By the early 1700s, southern slave owners finally realized that it is profitable to let slaves marry. The more children made and not needed, the more they could sell, the more money they got. However northern slave owners did not agree and did not approve of marriage among slaves.
• Owners often sold young girls, especially the light ones, to prostitution
• When a master died, his slaves will be distributed to his children or sold
• Female slaves sometimes had to breast feed the white babies
• Parents hoped their kids with die to relieve them from their grief
• Newly freed slaves often go searching for their long lost kin

Slavery, although a horrid time, was beneficial to our society. We would not only be a lot less advanced in electronics and even business, but we would might have had been all the same race. Everyone would be a mix of this or that, and although some people might see this as a plus, i believe it would take away from each of our uniqueness. If everyone on the planet was one culture, one race, then what would you have to learn. People travel the world to learn about others ethnicity's, however what would they learn if we were all the same.

If you are really interested and want to learn a little more about their history go to this website:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1609-1865/essays/aafamilies.htm

Thanks to these websites for making this possible:

1. www.pbs.org
2. www.whatdoesitmean.com
3. www.answersinhistory.wordpress.com
4. www.nationalhumanitiescenter.org