Slave Life In The 1800s Essay

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1. Slave’s lifestyle in the 1800 was anything but enjoyable. They lived, breathed, and sweated work.Their hours were from sunrise to sunset. Not only did they live in poor living conditions, and work in undesirable conditions, but they also were often taken from their families, and had religion forced on them. To sum it up, the lives that slaves led were unfavorable due to the way they had to live, and the lifestyle that was imposed on to them. Many today take the luxury of being able to live with food and a roof for granted - a luxury that slaves only dreamt of. Usually, their housing consisted of, in the south at least, small stick houses with many cracks, letting cold gusts of wind in. In books and movies the slave’s quarters are …show more content…

The industry of cotton affected the social class of the South in the sense that it gave the white men further means to harness the use the slaves, and gave the women a role other than just being a pretty wife. The cotton industry helped use the slaves due the fact now, much more tangible cotton could be generated. More slaves meant more cotton being picked, which meant more cotton material to be produced, which meant more profit. Prior to the revolution the social status was still similar, with man being above the woman, and the slaves at the bottom, but as cotton became a huge crop, each of the roles in society were heightened. The men were now hyper egotistical masters, the women were head of the slaves, and the slaves became nothing but property as they were harnessed for the land. The women had new powers as head of the slaves, they were the Southern mistress. The women became the caretakers and guidance for the workers, making sure they were doing their job, that they were able to work, and basically told them what was to be done. The husband may have bought the slave, but the wife commanded them. In short, the roles that were played in the south after the cotton revolution just goes to show how tightly the south enveloped and devoured the idea of slavery, and how heavily it affected everyone’s daily

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