Slavery the Peculiar Institution

1
Slavery the Peculiar Institution

• Slavery the System
• The Slave Experience
• Resistance

2
The Growth of Slavery

• Cotton gin makes cotton production profitable.
• New territory is being opened for slavery.
• Slavery is fundamental to the growth of cotton.
• Owning slaves seen as way to economic prosperity.

3
Eli Whitney and Slavery

• Inventor of the cotton gin
• It will make cotton production efficiently and
  cost effective which will drive the demand for
  slaves
• Whitney will also introduce a rifle with
  interchangeable parts which will aid in producing
  weapons quickly for the American Civil War

4
Anglo Justifications for Slavery

• Racial
• Blacks are seen as brutes and should be
  controlled
• Religious
• Bible scripture provides examples of slavery
• Scientific
• Blacks are inferior to whites
• Paternalism
• Blacks are being taken care of

5
The Plantation System

• Plantations were diverse economically and self
  sufficient.
• Slaves were organized into specialized gangs that
  performed specific duties.
• Productivity was tied to maintaining discipline.

6
Field Slaves

• Majority were field slaves and worked dawn to
  dusk. Some worked under the task system which
  required slaves to complete a specific job once
  done they were free to manage own affairs.
• Did skilled work like carpentry and ironsmithing
  and unskilled work like tending the crops.
• The women also had to care of their families by
  cooking, tending house and taking care of the
  children too!
• Masters hired out slaves to perform other duties
  and keep the slaves wages.

7
Slaves in the fields
8
House Slaves

• Household slaves cooked, cleaned, and nursed the
  master's children.
• Are constantly watched by their masters and
  mistresses. Had far less privacy than those who
  worked the fields.
• House slaves faced beatings, verbal abuse and
  sexual assault.

9
House Slaves