In essence a female black slave was more important to a slave owner typically more then a male was because the female could create babies which would equal more slaves to the slave owner in years to come, meaning the female slave was a bigger asset then a male slave typically was. .
Unfortunately in that time period the slave owner was usually in control what happened in a slave marriage. According to White, "Marital relationships were also multifaceted, but still very much dependent upon the compatibility of the personalities involved. What made slave male-female relationships unusual was the influence and power of the slave owner" (142.) The slave owner power was so powerful among a slave marriage, the slave owner could send the slave male far away from his wife in order for him to work. This practice of marriage was called marrying abroad. According to White, "if a man married abroad it meant the he wouldn't see his wife [but] only about once a week. The frequency of her husband's visits, however, was entirely dependent on the distance between plantations and on the disposition of masters" (154.) As stated above a big factor of a matriarchal marriage is when the husband is rarely present. The husband is obviously not present enough when he's married abroad. Surprisingly many of the slaves preferred marrying abroad. White stated in his book that it was easier for the spouses to deal marrying abroad due to the fact that they didn't have to watch their spouse being abused, and the husbands didn't witness their wives giving themselves up to the slave owners. White also stated, "abroad marriages usually contributed to the independence of women from their husbands. If men were not always present to fall back on, women were compelled to develop methods of dealing with domestic responsibilities and crises" (154.) Because women had to deal with all the responsibilities and crises that usually entitled them on taking almost full control on their children.
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...
