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Why Is Slavery Considered A Peculiar Institution?

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Slavery was considered a “peculiar institution” because slaveholders used physical abuse and mental manipulation to control their slaves. The United States economy is proven to thrive off of the institution of slavery since the beginning of American history. The cultivation of cotton by slaves was the basis of Southern economy. Since slavery was essential to the Southern economy, slaveholders had to make sure they took and sustained control of the slaves. Methods they often used was dehumanization and physical abuse which are depicted in 12 Years a Slave and Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl which shows the disregard of human life during this time. Slavery operated in the United States by making sure to crush any hope slaves may have by separating families and getting rid of slaves that have been serving slaveholders for many years when rendered useless by them. This make sure that the slaves always lived with uncertainty, unsure when their lives is going to drastically changed. In The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, New …show more content…

Methods such as physical and mental manipulation would keep the slaves from believing that they would ever be free. Slaveholders would treat their slaves like animals to dehumanize them and make them actually believe that they are not humans. They also make them constantly unsure of their future, making them fear that they can be split from their families and sold without notice. Slaveholders also maintain control through physical abuse. Slaves are whipped and tortured, having their skin extremely mutilated. They are punished even for the smallest things such as a bar of soap which destroys even the smallest freedom of self cleaning. These methods break down slaves and any hope they may carry with them. The lengths slaveholders went to maintain control of the slaves makes slavery a “peculiar

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The brutality of American slavery prior to the abolishment of slavery after the American civil war of 1861 to 1865 varied depending on the conditions offered by slave masters and particular historical events along with the states which slaves were in (Source A). Evidence suggests that the treatment of slaves especially in the southern region of America (which includes the states South Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Georgia) was horrendous as it included various punishments which scared slaves not only physically but also mentally. The treatment a slave received was also based on the how long the slave or slaves actually worked for a particular owner (Source B). Many testimonials from former African American slaves go on further to show

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Worst part is that the owners tried convincing the people that slaves weren't as equal as humans. This was their way of justifying their actions, by proving that slaves were lesser than them, they felt as they should be treated as they where not even human. Though it was impossible to move up as a slave, the slave owners didn't make it any easier. “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master. ”(p.53 )

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The psychological torture that came with being a slave was probably the most troubling aspect of slavery. As highlighted in the book, slaves were denied their basic human rights and end up being treated not as human beings but as assets. The fact that slavery involved selling and buying of slaves ensured that the fate of many African Americans was at the mercy of their masters. With little and at times no freedom, slaves had no choice on who they would marry. Upon having a family, the children of slaves became by default the property of the parents’ masters and would be sold at the will of these masters (Kolchin 44).

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Slave owners felt that it was their responsibility and duty to dominate the “less fortunate and the less

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From this, derives a bond with the reader that pushes their understanding of the evil nature of slavery that society deemed appropriate therefore enhancing their understanding of history. While only glossed over in most classroom settings of the twenty-first century, students often neglect the sad but true reality that the backbone of slavery, was the dehumanization of an entire race of people. To create a group of individuals known for their extreme oppression derived from slavery, required plantation owner’s of the South to constantly embedded certain values into the lives of their slaves. To talk back means to be whipped.

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