Price McGinnis
October 16, 2014
History 205 – Slavery in the United States
Dr. McKinney
Slavery: The Crucible that Helped Formed African American Culture
What
characterizes mankind as human? Is it the unique interactions and
communications people nurture with others, or the relationships they create with
those they care about? Many people argue that the concept of culture is what
makes mankind human. Edward B. Tylor defined culture in 1871 as, “that complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” The
institution of slavery heavily influenced American culture and specifically
African American culture. The institution of slavery is often referred to as
the crucible that helped to shape African American culture because of the harsh
treatment early Africans in America had to undergo in order to help shape the
African American culture known today.
Every culture
changes and experiences variations as new generations of people inherit their
culture. African American culture is no exception to this statement, especially
after the institution of slavery took place. In Major Problems in African-American History Volume I: From Slavery to
Freedom 1619-1877 Thomas C. Holt and Elsa Barkley Brown state that,
“historians have argued, that the concept of culture itself must not be
imagined as a fixed trait or characteristic to be passed unchanged from one
generation to the next.”[1]
A lot the African culture that did change due to slavery was because slaves
were seeking something to unify them.
Religion is one
the aspects of culture that allowed unification as well as allowing for
diffusion of African beliefs into southern culture and vice versa. Slaves in
the New World found themselves in a state of culture shock when their captors
and masters practiced a new and confusing religion, Christianity. With the
clash of African ritualistic practices and European Christianity came a
syncretism that merged the two religious cultures. Thomas C. Holt and Elsa
Barkley Brown even state, “Catholic saints could become associated with African
deities and Christian baptism with African river spirits”[2]
when discussing the diffusion that occurred. Religion, and Christianity
specifically, gave the slaves an outlet and release from their masters and
Sterling Stucky emphasizes this when he states, “Africans engaged in religious
ceremonies in their quarters and in the woods unobserved by whites.”[3]
This release allowed a unity to form amongst the slaves as there was presence
of their masters to tell them otherwise.
Another aspect of
African culture that came to be in the Americas and helped unite the slaves was
work culture. Frank X Walker attempted to take on the persona of York, who was
William Clark’s personal slave, and gives a previously unheard narrative of the
Lewis and Clark expedition in his book Buffalo
Dance: The Journey of York. Of the many themes brought up in this
collection of poetry, work ethic and work culture were prominent. This is
evident when Walker, through York, states, “even if the lot he draws is to pick
cotton every day he breathe he can decide to be the best picker ever was or
fill the bottom a his burlap with rocks and dirt.”[4]
The work culture created from this quote is that even though slaves lives were
hindered, they could still control how hard they worked. Another aspect of work
culture that helped unite slaves during work was song. Walker says, “Singing
songs an laughing a little somehow makes the load lighter”[5]
which shows that singing as a part of work culture stemmed from trying to make
their work easier. This singing united the slaves as these songs were often
sung in harmony.
While religion
and work culture helped to unite slaves and create the African American culture,
one of the most important aspects of African culture in the United States was
family ties and bonds. These familial relationships helped to say to the
slaves: you have worth. This worth was not because of how much cotton you pick,
but because you are a good human being.[6]
These familial bonds were not always between just family members either; they
were paternalistic in nature and were between most if not all the slaves of the
plantation. This paternalism helped slaves care for each other and this is
evident when Andrew Bryan, who was a slave, responded to Jonathan Clarke’s
letter in which Bryan says, “by a kind providence I am well provided for.”[7]
This quote is evidence that slaves really cared for each other and provided for
one another.
African American
culture is a complex and diverse culture that was molded and shaped in part to
the institution of slavery. Through this crucible of being owned by other human
beings and being treated as subhuman, African American culture emerged. Religion,
work culture, and familial bonds are all components of African American culture
that were able to form through the wretched institution of slavery and helped
form unity amongst the slaves. A syncretism of African ritualistic religion and
European Christianity helped form the religious aspect of African American
culture. Harsh working conditions and the need to alleviate the pain of this
backbreaking work helped form the songs and overall working culture of African
American culture. The most important aspect of this newfound African American
culture was the familial bond created between slaves to allow for unity to
materialize. Culture is something that innately makes humans human. It is
something that is not static and changes with every passing generation.
Preserving past traditions while accepting new ones with open arms is a recipe
for a healthy society and one that African American culture abides by.
[1] Thomas C. Holt and Elsa
Barkley Brown, Major Problems in
African-American History Volume 1: From Slavery to Freedom, 1619-1877 (Houghton
Mifflin Company 2000), 110.
[2] Thomas C. Holt and Elsa
Barkley Brown, Major Problems in
African-American History Volume 1: From Slavery to Freedom, 1619-1877 (Houghton
Mifflin Company 2000), 110.
[3] Thomas C. Holt and Elsa
Barkley Brown, Major Problems in
African-American History Volume 1: From Slavery to Freedom, 1619-1877 (Houghton
Mifflin Company 2000), 138.
[4] Frank X Walker, Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York, (The
University Press of Kentucky 2004), 3.
[5] Frank X Walker, Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York, (The
University Press of Kentucky 2004), 24.
[6] Dr. Charles McKinney,
“Masters and Slaves: The world they made together” (Lecture, Rhodes College,
Memphis, TN, October 9, 2014).
[7] Thomas C. Holt and Elsa
Barkley Brown, Major Problems in
African-American History Volume 1: From Slavery to Freedom, 1619-1877 (Houghton
Mifflin Company 2000), 126.
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