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Slave Life
This video is an example of how slaves were punished. It is difficult to watch, but it is important to see how Margaret and her fellow slaves at Maplewood were treated.
Slaves had absolutely no rights. They were sold and traded at the will of the slave owners. Children of slaves were considered property at the moment of their birth. There were two types of slaves on Southern plantations - field slaves and house slaves.House slaves tended to be women and although the work conditions might have been better than the field, it was still dangerous. Often the white male plantations owners would use the women slaves as "sex slaves". These women were repeatedly raped and beaten by their masters. Slaves trying to escape were beaten violently to teach a lesson to the other slaves. |