Labor Slavery in America and its Characteristic
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At this time each slave is presented with a sack. A strap is fastened to it, which goes over the neck, holding the mouth of the sack
breast high, while the bottom reaches nearly to the ground. Each one is also presented with a large basket that will hold about two
barrels. This is to put the cotton in when the sack is filled. The baskets are carried to the field and placed at the beginning of the
rows. When a new hand, one accustomed to the business, is sent for the first time into a field, he is whipped up smartly, and made
for that day to pick as fast as he can possibly. At night it is weighed, so that his capability in cotton picking is known. He must
bring the same weigh each night following. If it falls short, it considered evidence that he has been laggard, and a greater or less
number of lashes is the penalty.
Northup, 2014: 114 This quotation shows that the new comer should face the whip first to
accelerate their work, so that they can fulfill the amount for a day in picking cotton. In addition, they can get additional whips if they can not get a large or normal
amount of the cotton as quoted below: An ordinary day’s work is two hundred pounds. A slave who is
accustomed to picking, is punished, if he or she brings in a less quantity than that.
Northup, 2014: 114 The number of lashes is graduated according to the nature of the
case. Twenty-five are deemed a mere brush, inflicted, for instance, when a dry leaf or piece of boll is found in the cotton, or when a
branch is broken in the field; fifty is the ordinary penalty following all delinquencies of the next higher grade; one hundred is called
severe; it is the punishment inflicted for the serious offence of standing idle in the field; from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred is bestowed upon him who quarrels with his cabin-mates, and five hundred, well laid on, besides the mangling of the dogs,
perhaps, is certain to consign the poor, unpitied runaway to weeks of pain and agony.
Northup, 2014: 124 To get the exact amount of cotton every day, slaves should overwork without
stopping, all day. They are fear to stop working because they are afraid of the
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punishment that they would receive from their driver. This is portrayed in the quotation below:
The hand are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten of fifteen minutes, which
is given them at noon to swallow their allowances of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see,
and, when the moon is full, they oftentimes labors till the middle of the night. They do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return to
the quarters, however late it be, until the order to halt is given by the driver.
Northup, 2014:116 The slaves’ fear continues to the cotton-weighting after the colleting is done.
They should bring their cotton to the gin-house. This is a place where their fate of all-day-work and effort are decided. The quotation below shows their anxiety and
fear when they are headed to gin-house: No matter how fatigued and weary he may be – no matter how
much he longs for sleep and rest – a slave never approaches the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in
weight – if he has not performed the full task appointed him, he knows that he must suffer. And if he has exceeded it by ten or
twenty pounds, in all probability his master will measure the next day’s task accordingly. So, whether he has too little or too much,
his approach to the gin-house is always with fear and trembling. Most frequently they have too little, and therefore it is they are not
anxious to leave the field. After weighing, follow the whippings; and then the baskets are carried to the cotton house, and their
content stored away like hay, all hands being sent in to tramp it down.
Northup, 2014: 116 Solomon gives the description of his experience in collecting cotton and his
punishment as quotes below: After a most laborious day I arrived at the gin-house with my load.
When the scale determined its weight to be only ninety-five pounds, not half the quantity required of the poorest picker, Epps
threatened the severest flogging, but in consideration of my being a “raw hand”, concluded to pardon me on that occasion……….. It
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was rarely that a day passed by without one or more whippings. This occurred at the time the cotton was weighed. The delinquent,
whose weight had fallen short, was taken out stripped, made to lie upon the ground, face downwards, when he received a punishment
proportioned to his offence. It is the literal, unvarnished truth, that the crack of the lash, and the shrieking of the slaves, can be heard
from dark till bed time, on Epps’ plantation, any day almost during the entire period of the cotton-picking season.
Northup, 2014: 124 This quotation shows that when the slaves bring too little or too much of
cotton, they still feel the fear of doing something bad. Their fear continues until their rest time in the midnight. It causes them to decide sleep for a little time and full of
awareness as quoted below: The same fear of punishment with which they approach the gin-
house, posseses them again on lying down to get a snatch of rest. It is the fear of oversleeping in the morning. Such an offence would
certainly be attended with not less than twenty lashes. With a prayer that he may be on his feet and wide awake at the first sound
of the horn, he sinks to his slumbers nightly.
Northup 2014: 118 Through the quotation above, it is said that slave who is late to go to the field
or oversleep should be punished by twenty lashes. In other words, working as a slave should face the horror of being punished by whiplash. They can not avoid it whatever
they do. The slave should face unpredictable emotions or anger of master or overseer
in their work. They do not do anything wrong but they are accused for doing something wrong in master or overseer’s point of view as quoted below:
“Didn’t I tell you last night to get a keg of nails of Chapin?” he broke forth again.”
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“Yes, master, and so I did; and overseer said he would get another size for you, if you wanted them, when he came back from the
field.”
Tibeats walked to the keg, looked a moment at the contents, then kicked it violently. Coming towards me in a great passion, he
exclaimed,
“G—d d—n you I though you knowedsomething.” “I made answer: “I tried to do as you told me, master. I didn’t mean
anything wrong. Overseer said –“ But he interrupted me with such a flood of curses that I was unable to finish the sentence. At length
he ran towards the house, and going to the piazza, took down one of the overseer’s whips.”
Northup, 2014: 72