From: Andrea Pawlowski
Date: 4/10/00
Time: 6:35:48 PM
Remote Name: 155.247.156.224
Andrea Pawlowski Text Assignment - Week Twelve April 11, 2000 "How well did African Americans cope with being slaves in the American South? Did free blacks suffer as well as slaves?" Slave resistance was one of the ways that the slaves chose to show their feelings. Many slaves would participate in revolts and risk their lives in order to find liberation. Since the slaves did not cope well with their positions, they did attempt to run away. Many were reluctant because they could not bare to leave their family or got scared of the punishment so after "laying out" for one night, they would return back. A typical fugitive was a young man who was from the South and unmarried. Unfortunately some slaves had little chance of reaching free soil, so they had to register their "...opposition to the master of the plantation regime while remaining under the yoke of bondage." Another way that slaves showed their discontentment was to work rather slow and inefficient. It was a way of protest and many things became associated with this, such as music. Slaves would often sing songs like, "...You may think I'm working/But I ain't", or pretend that they had an injury. Although many were sick and sore from working on the plantation, for some that was their only alternative sign of a protest. Some slaves deliberately broke tools and poisoned their master's food. All of these actions were down as a cry for help but also to show their anger and hatred. The 500,000 free blacks were also faced with struggles. Just because they were titled "free" does not mean they had everything fine and perfect. They were treated as social outcasts and often had difficulty finding a decent job. Many states excluded blacks, whether free or not, from public schools and would not let them work for the government. Although titled free they still were treated like they were slaves. Many had white people who had to watch over them and be responsible for their actions. Although they were now free, many blacks were at one point slaves and wanted to help abolish slavery. So they joined the struggle for freedom and became the main conductors for the Underground Railroad.