Slave Historiography Essay

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Slavery has played an important role in American history ever since the Indies were discovered. The United States been built on the system of slavery. Once the demand for labor came into play, slaves filled the need for workers. Over time specific events such as the Civil War, the invention of the cotton gin, and agriculture, caused slavery to increase throughout the United States. Some slaves felt trapped by their “job” but feared prosecution if they tried to escape. Others took pride in their work and would work hard to please their masters. With each slave came different emotions about their work and experiences
How did slaves truly feel towards their work experiences and conditions? Eugene Genovese, Robert Fogel, Stanley Engerman, and Kenneth M. Stampp wrote articles telling in detail their experiences with slaves explaining their beliefs of how slaves felt towards their work. Genovese’s paper talks about the black slave work ethic and what drove slaves to work how they did. Fogel and Engerman wrote their piece on the quality and management …show more content…

Stampp explains how slaves struggled against their social status. This article is a social school of historiography because it talks about slave society trying to resist and rebel against their masters. It also is an economical school of historiography because it talks about the destruction of slave owners property, which ties into their wealth and prosperity. The Quality of Slave Labor and Racism ties into the social and economical category. This is because it talks about slaves overseeing other slaves work, which is both a social and economical factor. The last article The Black Work ethic by Eugene D. Genovese is an economical school of historiography. It deals with slaves and owners reaping the benefits of work with incentives. The slaves get rewarded for their work, and the master gets income that the slaves brought in. This ties into a person's wealth, production, and

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