Tate
Mulligan Pledge:
Reaction
Paper- 3rd
November
12, 2014
History
of Slavery- McKinney
Reaction
Paper: White Society and Its Foundation
In the antebellum South, the
Southern society was built on the relationship between slave and master. This
specific relationship dictated the economic success of a slaveholder, the
social status the slaveholder had in society, and the power and control the
slaveholder felt he processed with the people he interacted with. Slaveholder’s
role in society was controlled by their relationship with slaves.
The elite White society in the South
owned slaves because of the economic advantage of having free labor. The farmers
were able to produce more, because there were more hands working in the field. In
the antebellum period, there was an increase in “the cultivation of cotton”
because of the creation of the “cotton gin in the 1793”. [i]
There was an increase in the need for cotton in Europe and in the Northern
states, which “created an intense demand for slaves” in the South. [ii] The
slaves were a direct means of making money for the slaveholders and not having
to pay for the labor. The slaves could “solve endless problems” in a household
or a farm, and it allowed for slaveholders to have more free time to do
activities such as spend time in the city, write and read books, and be
involved in politics to name a few of the activities that became available to
slaveholders when they became successful enough to stop working along side the
slaves. [iii]
The slaveholders wanted to protect their lifestyle of success, and the
slaveholders wanted complete control of their property especially their slaves.
The relationship between the master and slaves was one of control by the
slaveholder because the slaveholders did not want to loose their economic
comfort that the slaves provided. A large percentage of the South planters did
not own slaves, but the idea of owning slaves became apart of the American
dream and the idea of success because the Southern slave society was one of the
most successful slave societies in the history of the world. [iv] The
antebellum South was completely effected by the economic success provided to
the elite White society by the African American slaves.
Owning slaves affected the social
status in the South, and having slaves was one of the key things a person in
the White South had to have to join the elite society. If a person owned slaves
they were “moved up” in the social realm and held more importance among their
peers. [v] A
large part of the social aspect was not only of the owning slaves, but it was
the ability to find the best slaves at the lowest price. A social
characteristic that white, elite men could be known for would be being a “ good
judge of slaves”. [vi]
The men would physically examine the slaves for hints of the history of the
slave. The men looking for slaves would specifically look at the slaves’ “
breast, arms, teeth and general form and appearance.” [vii]
These very specific body parts would be examined and the white men would guess
if the slave was in good condition to buy. This ability to be able to look at a
slave and determine their worth was considered a characteristic that white
slaveholders would have after a lot of time buying and selling slaves. It meant
that the slaveholder had been around slaves for long periods of time, and had
been in the elite society for a long time and knew the institution of slavery.
When the white men, who had travelled to the slave market, had bought a slave,
the slave was “ a show piece” to the other men in the same social circle. [viii]
The ability for a white man to buy the best slave showcased the ability to
afford the best of the best to work on their property. If the slaveholder was
extremely wealthy, the man could think more about his personal desires and the
slave women “embodied sexual desire and the luxury of being able to pay for its
fulfillment” [ix]
The “slaveholders’ own reputation depended upon the evaluation the others made
of their slaves.” [x] The
slaves justified in the slaveholders mind their economic status and therefore
their social status in the Southern community.
The power and self worth that the
slaveholders got from controlling the slaves changed the southern society in
the antebellum period. The white men that owned slaves were able to provide
more for their family because there were more people working on the same
objective. [xi]
The white families that had slaves were able to do less work themselves or put
their time into another activity. The slave owners did not only feel like they
owned the slaves, but had a personal responsibility of the lives of the slaves.
[xii] The
two sides that the slaveholder could show the slaves created a huge unbalance
in control. The slaveholders on one hand felt like that they needed to provide
for the slaves and that the slave could not survive without the goodwill and
direction from the slave owners. On the other hand, the slaveholders expected
hard work and loyalty from the slaves, and many of times to get what they
expected the slave owners had to threaten what was most important in a slaves’
life, their family and their body. The slave owners wanted “absolute control”
of their slaves because the owners felt the more control they had over their
slaves, the more control they had about their economic and social standings. [xiii] This
unbalance in power created self-satisfaction for the owners because they were
doing all the right steps to be successful in the eyes of the majority of the
elite white men of the south.
In the antebellum South, the ideal, successful,
white planter had to own slaves to have economic success to be able to compete
with other planters, belong to the elite society to fit in and have a sense of
power and control of one’s life and the other lives that he interacted with.
The relationship between the slaves and the masters made all of these pivotal
things happen for a white planter in the south. The foundation of the American,
White South was based on these “frail and resistant bodies” created success for
the white south people. [xiv] The
foundation of the South was created on this relationship between slaves and
slave owners. Within in this relationship, the slaves did resist the control
that the slave owners wanted so badly. The slaves expressed themselves through
small day-to-day resistances and secret parties that allowed the slaves to gain
some sense of agency, but many of times it was only enough to escape slavery
metaphorically. This specific relationship gave the white population in the
south success, but it gave them a sense of worth and power. Being white in this
southern society was enough to not be on the last rung of the social ladder.
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