what was a regular day like for a slave in the early 1800's. What were their tasks?

Question

punishments? Duties? relationship with slave owner?

Answer 1

The stereotype is slaves in the cotton fields. However, slaves could do a lot of things. In the Upper South, slaves were often loaned out to poorer whites as there was not enough work to use all the slaves. Owning slaves was very much a status symbol, and even if you no longer needed as many you did not dare sell any lest you be seen as becoming destitute. The most trusted slaves would be given better jobs, such as putting cotton in the cotton gin than actually having to pick it oneself. In South Carolina slaves typically dealt with rice and indigo crops; not cotton.

While punishments happened, it was not done as maliciously as the stereotype. After all, a modern man would never purposely damage their favorite golf club, car, hunting dog, etc. A slave whipped too hard might become too hurts to work for days.

The more slaves an owner had, the less likely the slaves would see the owner on a daily basis. Masters would hire another white as a taskmaster, so that if a slave did not like his treatment, he'd be more likely to blame the taskmasters for his harsh life. That allowed the master to fire the taskmaster for a new one, who would start fresh in this cycle. The use of taskmasters meant that during drafts in the South, it would be the taskmaster that needn't fight and it was the plantation owner's sons who went, as the taskmaster was more needed and, because the sons of plantation owners were the ones more likely to be educated, they would have the safer jobs in the Confederate Army.

Answer 2

"It all depends." Depends on the slave's age & gender; time of year; geographic location; what needed to be done; who else was there to help; what the slave owner was like--anything you said would be a gross generalization.

Answer 3

The library of congress has a good collection of info you're looking for right here:

Answer 4

For a simply answer: http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215086/dailylife.htm

or:

http://www.factsonfile.com/newfacts/Pdfs/46271/5-02.pdf

Somewhat more sophisticated:

http://sciway.net/hist/chicora/slavery18-3.html

A portal with lots of links:

http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/main/05/LifeonNorthAmericanPlantations.shtml

Good luck.

Answer 5

http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/slavery/antebellum_slavery/non_plantation_slave_life/labor.htm