Question

Why was it difficult for slaves to have families? And how did Slave owners use family members as a weapons against slaves. Carol Berkin article "African American Women in Colonial Society."

Answer 1

Slavery made community and family life very difficult. No southern state acknowledged slave marriages. Slave children's legal control rested with their slave owners or masters, not their parents. Slave owners could break up families at any time by selling their father , mother, or child. Of all their sufferings, they most feared being sold away from their loved ones. His owner may sell a father away while the mother and children stayed behind, or mother and children may be sold. And that fear was always true. Also, they felt shame and disgrace feelings. Some slaves chose to live with their masters at the expense of family members or in small communities, and they were often forced to work long hours or live without basic needs to even get money for food , clothing and shelter. In addition, slave owners viewed slave children as property. If a slave was freed from a master or slave master, the slave was placed on the street as a free person. This was a good time to run away, joining the free population. Some slave owners, however, refused to free slaves from their service. Their ability to lead a fulfilling and independent life was limited because they were forbidden to own property or other goods. Despite the regular frequent breakup of families by sale. The most slaves married and lived with the same spouse until death, and most slave kids grew up in two parent households. To sustain a sense of family identity, they often named their children after parents, grandparents and other kin.