Prior to the Civil War, life in the South can be described as a culture of fear. White plantation owners were afraid that the slaves would one day rise up agains them in rebellion similar to what had happened in Haiti. Yeoman feared that they would lose their status in Southern culture and become poor and poor whites feared becoming poorer and worse off than slaves. Free Blacks faced the possibility of being falsely accused of a crime and sent into slavery while slaves feared being punished at the will of their master or overseer.
In order to prevent a slave uprising, plantation owners attempted to use fear as a method of controlling their slaves. Slaves would be severely punished for a variety of reasons: resisting slavery, running away, stealing, speaking up against their master, and not working hard enough to name a few. Below is a drawing of slave who is being punished with a muzzle, probably for speaking too much while working.
Since the punishments for slaves was so severe, many slaves were forced to resort to covert or secret means of resisting slavery. These methods included: pretending to be sick, destroying farm equipment, and slowing down the pace of work.
Another form of resisting slaver was using overt methods. These tactics were very clear and obvious that a slave was resisting their owner. The most common form of resisting slavery was running away. Since masters relied on their slaves for work, slaves used their master's dependency to their advantage. For Homework tonight, please read and markup the handout on Marronage.
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