The Road to Civil War- Work- 2/5/13

Many things led up to, or were the cause of, the Civil War. The first of many was the work of the slaves (different types of slaves, children slaves, punishments, housing, food, and clothing.)

- Rice slaves; the task system

The task system allowed slaves to have "free time" if they finished their assigned work for that day. 

For example: if a slave finished harvesting their share of the cotton crop with two hours left, they could spend those two hours how they wished. Most slaves simply rested if they finished before time was called, and others might have went to the aid of the elderly (because if you didn't finish in the time given to you, you were punished)

-Cotton slaves; the gang system

The gang system was the harsher of the two systems. The slaves were to work until their master told them to stop. they rarely had to rest and most likely no free time.

-House slaves

The house slaves worked inside their master's house. They cleaned, cooked, gardened, and also acted as seamstresses.

-Drivers

Drivers were most commonly older slave that had earned at least some of their master's trust. Their job was to watch over the other slaves and make sure they were on task. Occasionally, it was the job of the driver to whip slaves who were not working quickly enough or slacking off. Because of this, the other slaves considered to drivers to be traitors and they loathed them.

-Housing

The housing for the slaves consisted of cabins, some were away from the master's house and others were close. The cabins were arranged in quarters, almost like a small village, and some contained plots used to grow food. The cabins had very little furniture and only one room.

-Clothing

The slaves received clothing maybe once a year, while children younger than maybe four or five were not given clothing at all. Also the elderly most times were not given shoes to wear, and those who owned shoes had them in very poor conditions.