Slave Life in America

Slave Life in America

By Erika Absher

Slave Life in America

Even though great technological improvements occured during the Industrial Revolution in the America, life remained very difficult for slaves in the agricultural south.

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Multiple Choice

Where was lifer really difficult for the slaves?

• The North

• The South

• The West

​Slaves in the South typicallhy lived on small farms or plantations or in cities and towns. NOT all White southerners owned slaves. In fact, by 1860, only 25 percent of white southern families owned slaves. Many of these families operated small farms with just a few slaves. Slaves on smaller farms often had better relationships with their owners and better living conditions than slaves on large plantations.

Multiple Choice

Did all White Southerners own slaves?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

Where did slaves have better living conditions?

• Plantations

• small farms

Southern Plantations

Southern Plantations had slave populations ranging from 25 slaves to several hundred. Plantation slaves worked in the fields, in jobs such as blacksmiths or carpenters, or as house servants. Plantation slaves often endured harsh weather conditions and long hours. Many suffered cruel treatment by masters and overseers. ​

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Multiple Choice

How many slaves did Southern Plantations have?

• 25 to several hundred

• 75

• thousands

• 250

"Hired Out"

Sometimes, slaves were "hired out" by their owners to work in cities or towns, where they worked in factories, mills, shipyards, or warehouses. Here, some slaves learned skills, such as carpentry or blacksmithing, and were sometimes able to keep part of their wages. Overall, these city slaves had better lives and more freedom than those working on farms or plantations.

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Multiple Choice

What jobs did slaves in cities and towns have?

• working in factories, mills, shipyards, warehouses, carpentary, and blacksmithing

• selling crops

• driver

Multiple Choice

No Slaves had a great life, but which slaves had a better lifed and more freedom?

• city slaves

• plantation slaves

• small farm slaves