Today in American society the dominant family structure in almost all cultures is a patriarchal family. A patriarchal family is; authority held by the eldest male, usually the father. A patriarchal family is common today because the male usually tends to earn the higher income and is around to take control of the family. Back when slavery was around in America a patriarchal family wasn't as common as today, especially in a African American slave family. The dominant family structure in a African American slave family was a matriarchal family. A matriarchal family is; authority held by the eldest female, usually the mother. A matriarchal family usually occurs when men aren't present. In most cases in a African American slave family men were hardly present. The matriarchal form of family was clearly present in the African American slave families due to the facts that: the husband couldn't support or take care of his spouse thru goods and services, the husband was hardly around and if lucky saw his spouse twice a week, and the mother took almost all control and care for the children.
In the era of slaves, the marriage between a slave husband and wife were completely different then what they are today. According to Deborah Gray White author of Ar"n't I a Women? Female Slaves in the Plantation South stated, "marriage did not bring the traditional benefits to female slaves. Slave women could not depend on their husbands for protection against whippings or sexual exploitation. Slave couples had no property to share, and essential needs like food, clothing, and shelter were not provided by slave husbands. Thus slave men could not use the provision of subsistence goods as leverage in the exercise of authority over women" (153.) Subsequently a big reason why a matriarchal was the dominant form of marriage of a slave family was because the male couldn't support the female as stated above due to the fact that the male couldn"t provide the female with food, clothing, shelter, etc If the male couldn't support the female with those goods a patriarchal form of marriage would be unheard of.
A Slaves Family When people generally think of family they think happy thoughts, thoughts of love and togetherness. ... Harriet Beecher Stowe was never a slave. ... Uncle Tom's Cabin main focus is the slave family. ... Stowe is showing the importance of family to the black slave. ... They showed the slaveholders" main objective in separating slave families was to break the slaves. ...
The oppression for slaves reached its peak with the Runaway Slave Act of 1850. ... The Virginia Slave Codes of 1705 became the model of slave codes for other colonies. ... The New York City Slave Rebellion of 1712 occurred after several slaves had a meeting in a tavern. ... The revolt started when Turner and several other slaves entered the plantation and killed his master and family. ... The Southerners had a way to oppress these slaves also, The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a federal crime to aid, embed or not return any fugitive slave. ...
There were small farmers with two or three slaves, planters with ten to thirty slaves and big planters who owned a thousand or more slaves. ... Fractional amounts, usually one-half, were allotted to each child in the family. ... The housing units of most slaves were family-type cabins, but some lived in large barracks that were filled with slaves of all ages, conditions and size. ... Slaves had no rights. ... Forced separation of family members was a constant, dreadful threat used by the slave masters to keep them in line. ...
The Slaves" and the Slave owners" Views of Slavery The slavery in the United States is no doubt a shameful history of our country. ... That can be seen in various slaves" and slave owners" descriptions of slavery. ... (Williams 41) The slave owners really believed that slavery was very beneficial for the slaves, and they clothed their slaves well. ... According to a slave the meal itself usually consisted of cornmeal and salt herrings, "...to which was added in summer a little buttermilk and the few vegetables which each might raise for himself and his family on the little piece of gr...
The Slaves" and the Slave owners" Views of Slavery The slavery in the United States is no doubt a shameful history of our country. ... That can be seen in various slaves" and slave owners" descriptions of slavery. ... (Williams 41) The slave owners really believed that slavery was very beneficial for the slaves, and they clothed their slaves well. ... According to a slave the meal itself usually consisted of cornmeal and salt herrings, "...to which was added in summer a little buttermilk and the few vegetables which each might raise for himself and his family on the little piece of gr...
She thinks and speaks for herself, devises a plan and acts on it, all the while keeping in mind family unity and protection for her children. ... She can have the traditional family unlike Linda. After her escape, Linda is assisted by a slave holding white woman. ... She was to provide comfort for her husband and her family, not aid in the dispensing of impartiality. ... This can be proven in the slave narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. ...
Family life was an indispensable part of a slave's life. Family gave slaves a sense of identity and a purpose to life. ... Unfortunately, as many as one third of all slave families were broken apart as individual members and sold. ... Family members could rarely intervene to prevent the abuse of another family member. ... Slave family structure, while not always traditional, created strong kinship ties despite the oppressive system. ...
During the period of slavery, slave owners came up with many methods of controlling their slave. ... To punish slaves owners would often break up their families. ... Them white folks didn't care nothing "bout how the slaves grieved when they tore up a family" (Wheller and Becker 190). Up to one third of slave families were broken up during the time of slavery. ... If threatened to have their family broken up slaves would pretty much do what ever their masters wanted....
The constant sale and trade of slaves threatened to break apart slave marriages and families, so slaves viewed their families in terms of kinships. ... Slaves adapted to their circumstances by creating family units with other slaves they lived and worked with. ... Slavery was set up to break family bonds, but Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl shows us that the most important aspect of freedom is remaining attached to, or bonded to, one's family. ... As a result, their wives are unhappy and full of spite for the slave woman who bears mixed children. ... As the matriarch in this family...
