Isabella Nugent
Writers and artists have always been
able to interpret real life events through their own vision, representing their
personal viewpoints in their art. In today’s culture, movies and television
programs, with their strong visual impact, have the power to portray historical
events in a very impactful manner, often leaving the audience to believe that
the details, down to every word of dialogue, is the truth. Slavery is one
subject matter that regardless of the imagery depicted in a movie or
television, the brutal reality will never be fully felt by an audience. It is
an experience only the real life victims could ever totally understand. The
classic imagery is of a white male plantation owner ruling his property,
including his human slaves, with an iron fist, even resorting to physical
brutality when he thought necessary to maintain his control. The interesting
aspect of this constant battle for control is actually in the smaller, much
less obvious ways the slaves actually won these battles on a daily basis.
Despite common belief, slave owners were never able to gain complete control
over their slaves’ lives. Behind closed doors, the men, women and children that
were enslaved, found ways to maintain their beliefs and ultimately, their
humanity, in small but powerful ways. The plantation owners may have defined
the slaves as their personal property, but the slaves defined themselves as
they chose, through their own thoughts and subtle actions.
Ultimately
any human is defined by their personal attributes and values, not by the job
they do, and this was true of the slaves as well. Despite a slave owner’s
belief that the workers on his property were not human, this, to state the
obvious, did not make the slave any less of a human, a living breathing person
with a heart and mind. It is, of course, impossible for one human to tell
another he cannot feel or believe in something. No man is omnipotent, and so
one individual can never ultimately know what is in the heart and mind of
another man. From outside appearances, a slave master has ultimate control over
his slaves, from the second they wake up to the moment they go to bed. Slaves
certainly lived in constant fear of physical punishment and even death at the
whim of their owner, but no amount of fear could control their inner emotions
and thoughts. Fear was the tool to control the slave work force, and so
ultimate supremacy translated into greater profits. However, Peter Kolchin
explains in his book American Slavery ”Masters never achieved the total
domination they sought over their slaves…the slaves lived in a world that was
influenced but by no means totally controlled by the slaveholders’ regime.[1]”
Whether it was religious
beliefs, personal opinions, or daily customs, slaves were able to create their
own “semi-autonomous way of life”[2]
in their minds if not with their bodies.
The
idea of dominance and superiority was a common mindset during this time,
for not only slave owners. White men who were in the lower class, who could not
afford to have a slave, struggled with this as well. However, in their m7ind
being a poor farmer is still better then being a black slave. This state of
mind was their way of coping with their financial problems. Slaves would
constantly be considered the ‘bottom of the barrel’, viewed as merely a tool to
help bring in more money. Slaves were mostly illiterate, unschooled, and
constricted to their job being their only activity in their life. Due to this,
it makes sense why so many people would expect a slave to have no control over
their own life. What many people do not take into consideration is that fact
that while working all day they are able to take in their surroundings,
including their master’s actions. Kolchin writes that, “…blacks were, at best,
imitative of whites”[3]. Like a small child, they grow up
watching their parents’ actions and ultimately imitating them. Although slaves
aren’t technically ‘small children’ they are living in a community in which
they are forced to learn from their surroundings. Because of this slight
imitation, it is only natural for a slave to form his or her own opinion on
certain matters and want to discuss and spread these thoughts. This chain
reaction is the core reason that slaves were able to maintain their humanity
and take back some control from their owners.
Despite
the image, and
often reality, of a wicked slave owner, owners did have an incentive to treat
their slave property humanely, and that was simply, if for no other reason, to
keep their property in good working order. Basic needs of food, clothing, and
housing were the responsibility of the plantation owner, and of course, it
would not make sense to spend good money to buy labor, and then have the labor
quickly die once on the plantation. Slaves were an extremely valuable asset,
and so it was in the owner’s best interest to provide the essentials necessary
to ensure a long, productive life of work from their laborers. This
relationship of providing fundamental needs for each other, labor for the
owner, food and shelter for the slave, allowed the development of a kind of
relationship. This relationship
was certainly not between equals, but it did provide the slave with some sense
of control over the owner, understanding that his labor was required for the
profitable operation of the plantation. Walter Johnson describes in Soul by Soul that in some cases, slave
owners may have actually yearned to make a good impression upon their slaves in
the hopes of receiving good behavior in return. He explains, “Slave
buyers…were trying to impress themselves upon their new slaves: they were
fair-minded men …who expected hard work and good behavior in return for their
benevolence.[4]”
Although
caring owners were certainly not always the case, it was definitely a means of
conduct that provided an amount of power for both parties, resulting in a daily
life that could almost be described as peaceful between the two. Obviously, to
describe living as a slave in peace is an oxymoron, but nevertheless, a
nonviolent daily existence was a benefit to all.
Living
a life as a slave will always be the ultimate tragedy for a human, but it is
false to believe that physically controlling another human being is the same as
controlling them mentally and emotionally. Human beings by nature will always
attempt to hold on to their humanity. Often by the minor daily gestures and
activities away from the eyes of their masters, slaves maintained small parts
of their culture and beliefs. Regardless of social hierarchy, where there is
always a top and a bottom level, human minds will search out information and
knowledge, regardless of how they are viewed by others in positions of power
above them. Language and thoughts are gained without formal education, even
when books are a forbidden. Ideas are formed and shared between companions, and
those opinions and impressions spread by word of mouth, even when teachers and
newspapers are not existent. Humans, even in slavery, are able to observe the
behavior of those around them, as well as their environment, and learn thru
their own inquisitiveness, regardless of a master’s physical control. Many
owners may have not considered their slaves humans, but their definition of
human cannot deny another’s humanity. As long as a slave was able to take in
information through his own eyes and ears, and witness the behavior of people
around him, he would always be the master of his own thoughts and feelings.
[1] Peter
Kolchin, American Slavery, 1619-1877. (New York: Hill and Wang, 1993), 133.
[2] Ibid
181.
[3] Peter
Kolchin, American Slavery, 1619-1877. (New York: Hill and Wang, 1993), 134
[4] Walter
Johnson. Soul by Soul: Like inside the Antebellum Slave Market. (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press 1999) 198.
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