Slavery in America

Slaves in a Field

Slavery was prevalent in the American South, and Southern economy depended on it.  Slavery had already been abolished in most Northern states, but the growing and profits of cotton sustained Southern slavery.  

Slaves were treated and considered as property.  They could be bought, sold, and traded.  Many families were separated, and others feared that this would happen to them.  Some slave owners did not care about their slaves, only about profit, but others genuinely cared for their slaves.  Ironically, several professing Christians were slave owners, such as Miss Watson, the Shepherdsons, and the Grangerfords.  If a slave ran away (like Jim did), many masters placed advertisements with descriptions and rewards for re-capturing the slave.

Runaway Slave Advertisement

Their owner had all jurisdiction over their slaves.  The owner could force them to work and punish them.  Most slaves were field workers on plantations, but others were household servants.  A select few were skilled craftsmen and other roles.  Many slaves started working before dawn and ended after sundown.  There was always a fear of punishment.

Conditions varied, but slaves (on a plantation) typically lived in crude cabins that froze them in the winter and that roasted them in the summer.  Most slaves had food and clothes, but in worse cases, they were treated worse than dogs.  Slaves were not allowed to learn how to read or write, and to do pretty much anything, they had to have their owner's permission.

In defense to the abolitionist movement as well as questions in their own hearts, many slave owners lied.  They claimed that slaves need them to survive, or that slaves enjoyed being slaves.  They could comfort themselves with splitting up a family by saying, "Oh, they are not really humans.  They don't love each other like we do."  In many instances throughout the novel, Twain sets up scenarios to show whites that blacks indeed were too people like them.  Jim loved his family, and Huck remarked that Jim loves his family like white fathers do theirs.  Slavery is a dark spot in American history, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be interpreted as Twain's satire on slavery.

Pictures: 

First picture courtesy of: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/slavery.html

Second picture courtesy of: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/archivesmonth/2008/gallery.asp?inst=9