History of Free Blacks As Essay

Therefore, the triple threats of physical violence, sexual violence, and disruption of the family were probably the most serious daily complaint of 19th century slaves.

Many of the complaints that slaves had were based on the limitations that they faced in their daily lives. In the early days of slavery, slaves had much more practical freedom than they had after the growth of plantations and the related dependence on slave labor. Although there were exceptions, almost all slave owning territories became more limited during the 19th century. As a result, slaves were forbidden from doing many of the things that seemingly separate man from lower animals, in an attempt to justify treating them like chattel. For example, slaves were prohibited from pursuing their own religious ideology or practicing traditional religions, and the religion taught to slaves preached that it was God's plan that they be enslaved. Slaves were prohibited from learning to read and write. Slaves had previously been able to travel and practice trades, as long as they had their masters' permission to do so, but those rights became restricted in the 19th century. Slaves could not officially marry, and they had no legal recourse when their families were divided by their owners. Slaves had no recourse when they were physically or sexually assaulted. Once whites began to fear slave uprisings, slaves could not gather in large groups, which limited their social abilities. Of course, as slaves, they