From: Jerry Reavey
Date: 4/20/00
Time: 3:13:02 PM
Remote Name: 155.247.150.13
Jerry Reavey
Most slaveholders held the opinion that all blacks were hapless, childlike, ignorant, and in constant need of correction. To a great extent, many slaves used these biases in their favor to protect themselves from the slave-drivers anger. The most common form of slave resistance was passive. It was more beneficial to the survival of the slaves to try to maintain the status quo as much as possible than to openly defy their owners. Running away was difficult, and for those with family and friends on the plantation, even more difficult. Most slaves stayed in bondage, patiently waiting for the day they would be free. It is this quiet dignity that helped African Americans survive slavery in the U.S. South. There were many ways slaves used to cope with their condition. Most worked slowly or poorly, which was the easiest to get away with. After all, if slaveholders expect the blacks to be lazy and ignorant, proving them wrong would probably only make them expect more work. Others used sabotage to help disrupt the system, breaking tools and machinery by night. These actions kept slaves from doing too much work, as long as there wasn't enough of a distraction to warrant a whipping. Many slaves turned to religion to help deal with the inhuman burden of a lifetime of servitude. The book of Exodus had particular meaning to them; Moses frees the slaves of Egypt and leads them to the promise land. This was a perfect allegory for the struggle of blacks in the South to be free of the chains of