How were slaves punished on the plantations?

Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning, mutilation, branding, rape, and imprisonment. Punishment was often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but sometimes abuse was performed to re-assert the dominance of the master (or overseer) over the slave.

What was life like for the slaves on the plantations?

Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown six days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat. 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.

How did house slaves get treated?

House slaves usually lived better than field slaves. They usually had better food and were sometimes given the family’s cast-off clothing. Their living accommodation was also better than those of other slaves. In some cases the slaves were treated like the slave-owners children.

What happened to slaves when they were too old to work?

Although some planters manumitted elderly slaves who could no longer work, most elderly slaves remained on plantations with their families, and their masters were expected to provide for them until they died.

How would you describe the treatment of slaves during the antebellum period?

Slaves resisted their treatment in innumerable ways. They slowed down their work pace, disabled machinery, feigned sickness, destroyed crops. They argued and fought with their masters and overseers. Many stole livestock, other food, or valuables.

How were Jamaican slaves treated?

Those Africans who endured and survived the horrors of the Middle Passage would then begin a life of inhumane treatment on the plantations, which included working without pay, whipping, torture and sexual abuse. Many were maimed or killed as punishment for daring to seek freedom.

How were slaves treated on farms?

Most slaves on small farms worked from sunrise to sunset. Men helped with hanging, drying, and packing tobacco, as well has building and repair work on the farm. Because the small farmer owned only a few slaves, it was hard for slave men and women on these farms to find wives and husbands.

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 was the strongest weapon of the plantation masters?

According to the text, what was the most powerful weapon the plantation masters had? The threat of sale.

What were the three compromises that were made over the practice of slavery during the expansion of the United States into western areas?

The three major compromises were the Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Electoral College. The Great Compromise settled matters of representation in the federal government.