Slavery,The+Peculiar+Institution

The "Peculiar Institution" meant that it was distinctive, not odd.

- Slavery began to develop as a culture of its own. - The relationship between whites and blacks created a master and slave relationship.
 * Slavery drew a line between african americans and whites, which created separate spheres for each race.
 * Legal Basis of Slavery
 * Slave Code : forbade slaves to have property, to congregate with other slaves except for church, leave the premises of its master without permission, to have any firearms, to be out after dark, and to strike a white person. Also, the laws also kept whites from teaching blacks to read or white, and stated that blacks could not testify in court.
 * Relationships between slaves and masters usually depended on the size of the plantation
 * the bigger the plantation, the more privacy. More slaves preferred this.
 * A master's relationship could range from cruel to father-like.
 * In larger plantations, the __Task and Gang Systems__were commonly used.
 * Task System- they would be assigned one task in the morning, and when they get it done, they are done.
 * Gang System- Slaves were divided into groups, and their driver controlled how much work they did and for how long.
 * Women slaves had a difficult life living like a single mom, because her husband was at another plantation, cooking for her family, and also completeing chores for her master.
 * sexual abuse was also common
 * There was a high mortality rate because many kids did not reach adulthood since they lived in harsh poverty.
 * House slaves worked close with the master.
 * Sometimes lived inside the master's house.
 * Female servants more prone to sexual abuse by masters and overseers
 * The line between slaves and whites in the city was less distinct because they could not of been watched carefully like on a plantation.

The Slave Resistance The Culture Of Slavery The Paternal Nature of Slavery
 * The way slaves acted out against slavery.
 * Sambo
 * Blacks would act slow and unintelligent, generally portraying themselves in a way which played into the white stereotype of them.
 * Another way was by having slave revolts.
 * They would also be too many slaves involved and before it happened, word would get out and the slave revolt would not happen.
 * One semi-successful slave revolt was Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831. He and a band of other slaves went from house to house killing all the whites. Eventually, however, federal troops stopped them.
 * Some slaves would simply run away
 * Many slaves used the Underground Railroad
 * A series of safe-houses which would hide slaves and allow them to escape to the north
 * Others stayed on the plantation, but generally did not work hard or broke the tools provided to them in spite.
 * many slaves knew pidgin, a common language among african americans.
 * One of the reasons Slave Religion was so strong was that they prayed and chanted about being freed.
 * Slaves depended on food, shelter, clothes, and protection from their masters.


 * See Also:**
 * Myth of the Lost Cause (for more on paternal nature of slavery)
 * Varieties of Slavery