Most slaves on small farms worked from sunrise to sunset. Men, women, and children worked in the
tobacco fields
since that was where their labor was needed most. Other work for women included helping with the cooking, laundry, gardening, and child-rearing.
What work did the slaves do?
When they were not raising a cash crop, slaves grew other crops, such as corn or potatoes; cared for livestock; and cleared fields,
cut wood, repaired buildings and fences
. On cotton, sugar, and tobacco plantations, slaves worked together in gangs under the supervision of a supervisor or a driver.
How much did slaves get paid?
Wages varied across time and place but self-hire slaves could command between
$100 a year
(for unskilled labour in the early 19th century) to as much as $500 (for skilled work in the Lower South in the late 1850s).
Where do slaves sleep?
Slaves on small farms often slept in
the kitchen or an outbuilding
, and sometimes in small cabins near the farmer’s house. On larger plantations where there were many slaves, they usually lived in small cabins in a slave quarter, far from the master’s house but under the watchful eye of an overseer.
What did the slaves do for fun?
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays,
slaves engaged in singing and dancing
. Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of “patting juba” or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion. A couple dancing.
At what age did slaves start working?
Generally, in the U.S. South, children entered field work
between the ages of eight and 12
. Slave children received harsh punishments, not dissimilar from those meted out to adults. They might be whipped or even required to swallow worms they failed to pick off of cotton or tobacco plants.
How many hours a day did slaves work?
During harvest time, slaves worked in shifts of
up to 18 hours a day
.
How long did slaves live?
As a result of this high infant and childhood death rate, the average life expectancy of a
slave at birth was just 21 or 22 years
, compared to 40 to 43 years for antebellum whites. Compared to whites, relatively few slaves lived into old age.
Is there still slavery today?
The Global Slavery Index (2018) estimated that
roughly 40.3 million individuals
are currently caught in modern slavery, with 71% of those being female, and 1 in 4 being children. … Its estimated a total of 40 million people are trapped within modern slavery, with 1 in 4 of them being children.
How many slaves are in America today?
Prevalence. The Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that on any given day in 2016 there were
403,000 people
living in conditions of modern slavery in the United States, a prevalence of 1.3 victims of modern slavery for every thousand in the country.
Can slaves get paid?
Some enslaved people received small amounts of money, but that was the exception not the rule. The
vast majority of labor was unpaid
.
What did the slaves eat?
Weekly food rations — usually
corn meal, lard, some meat, molasses, peas, greens, and flour —
were distributed every Saturday. Vegetable patches or gardens, if permitted by the owner, supplied fresh produce to add to the rations. Morning meals were prepared and consumed at daybreak in the slaves’ cabins.
What slaves lived like?
Plantation slaves lived in
small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture
. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst. However, work for a small farm owner who was not doing well could mean not being fed. The stories about cruel overseers were certainly true in some cases.
What living conditions did slaves have?
They lived in crude quarters that left
them vulnerable to bad weather and disease
. Their clothing and bedding were minimal as well. Slaves who worked as domestics sometimes fared better, getting the castoff clothing of their masters or having easier access to food stores.
How many pounds of cotton did slaves pick a day?
With the invention of the cotton gin, one slave could gin
50 pounds
of cotton per day. Did this mean plantation owners needed fewer slaves?
Did slaves get days off?
Enslaved people were granted time off to celebrate religious holidays
as well, the longest being the three to four days off given for Christmas. Other religious holidays that provided days off were Easter and Whitsunday, also known as Pentecost.
