Women And Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Women And Slavery - Essay Example Slaves were owned by their masters, having no rights of their own. They were subject to brutal punishments often for false or whimsical reasons, depending upon the desire or mood of the master who owned them. Men were beaten and often killed by their masters for unavoidable human error. Deliberate offenses were punished by cruel torture, such as being left in the hot sun while restrained by a stock, after being beaten and horsewhipped on a bare back. â€Å"Patrollers† were men assigned to riding on horseback through areas to check for slaves off the plantations; runaways were punished. Both men and women runaways were branded on their cheeks with an R, signifying runaway. Male slaves who attempted to run away were beaten and had their tendons slashed on one leg so they couldn’t walk very well, much less run. Women were often beaten and raped by their masters to satisfy their base natures or to provide some form of entertainment; children were born of these events, were owned, like livestock. The slaves were frequently traded and sold in the open market at designated marketplaces. They were chained together and displayed in a public place. Each potential buyer would examine the slave they were interested in as livestock; the body, attitude, and minimal history of each slave was considered. Slaves social and work history were recorded along with their trade records; for example, it would list the name of the slave, the amount of pervious purchase, any significant social history, such as violence or mental instability, with the current asking price; often these histories were inaccurate. It was rare that families were allowed to remain together; each person being sold piecemeal, although, young children were usually left with their mothers until they were old enough to be useful as servants or laborers. Neighbors and other plantation owners developed a network for trading slaves. They often borrowed each other’s slaves during times of harvest or disaster. Towards the end of the slavery period, slaves, in preparation for transition, would obtain permission to rent themselves out to neighboring plantation owners in order to make money to buy their freedom. The Slave Codes born from the Negro Act of 1740 controlled every detailed aspect of slave life. The children usually wore no clothing until adolescence; then clothing of the poorest quality was distributed once a year by the master, occasionally winter clothing was issued at Christmas. The elderly or physically disabled slaves received nothing extra, neither warm clothing nor shoes. Slaves weren’t allowed to learn to read or write, neither could they assemble together, nor practice folk traditions, customs, or their religion. Plantation slaves often had more of a sense of community, because they usually worked together. They were often managed by a â€Å"driver† who was of their own community; making him responsible for the performance of every slave on the plantation. It often led to disputes among them, as he also had to be the one to deliver the required punishments. On the plantations, slaves lived in cabins they built for themselves; it was often just a lean to shack of one room, urban slaves lived in the attics or back rooms of the master’s home. Slaves lined up weekly, usually on Saturdays, at a central location on the plantation, usually near the area where butchering was done to receive their weekly rations of food; their diets were poor, usually very high in meat fat and starch. They received flour, molasses, peas and beans, lard, cornmeal, and a poor cut of scrap meat. (From this is comes the tradition some companies still have

False Claims Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

False Claims - Coursework Example New York Times reports indicate that 34 percent of American households possessed guns in 2012. They claim that compared to 32 percent of gun ownership in 2010, the rate had substantially declined. The GSS Survey data that New York Times relied on contradicts many other surveys conducted by prominent firms such as Gallup. Gallup reported 47 percent gun ownership in October 2011. The percentages reported by Gallup were inconsistent with the trend of decline in gun ownership as outlined by New York Times. New York Times data also failed to account for the percentage of gun ownership in 2011(Gebeloff & Tavernise, 2013). Omission of data shows unreliability in New York Times report on gun ownership in America. Data from ABC news and Washington post-poll also shows inconsistency of New York Times data. ABC News reports indicate that gun ownership among American households holds at 43 percent that is higher than the 37 percent reported by the New York Times. Gebeloff, R. & Tavernise, S. (2013, March 9). Share of Homes with Guns Shows 4-Decade Decline. The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2014 from, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?hp&_r=0 Johnrlott. (2013 November, 19). Problems with Using the General Social Survey to Measure Gun Ownership. Crime Prevention Research Center. Retrieved October 10, 2014 from,