Slave+Culture

When slaves were being sold, often times, they could be separated from their families. The masters who bought the slaves did not care about their feelings and did not care about their connections with their families, they just wanted someone to help their plantations grow more. Children and parents or husbands and wives would be separated and it was not at all likely that they would ever see each other again. Also, many women would be harmed by their masters, sometimes violated, so they often got pregnant. When they had their child, they would raise them to be a slave, because they had no other choice. When the child grew up, sometimes they would be sold to another plantation, and would not ever see their parent again. In addition, on the plantations, there were many different people from very diverse areas of Africa. Not many of them spoke the same language so communication was very difficult. All that the Africans had been taught was the native language to their homeland, they did not know anything else would be necessary. Many of the slaves had to learn English so they could understand others and be able to relate with fellow slaves about the hard times they were going through, and possibly to make some friends.
 * Family and Friends:**

 Music gave slaves hope and the courage to keep fighting on during the difficult times. These songs helped them remember their culture and heritage. This was one of the only recreational activities they could do. Sometimes these songs had a secret meaning that gave directions to escape north. The music helped unify the slaves. A sense of home and peacefulness was captured during these songs. The slaves music had the power to make them feel free and happy.
 * Music**

A recreation of a old field holler: [] - This is a group of people who are recreating an old field holler that was sung in the fields while they worked. Video of a field holler, Go Down Moses:[] - This video is a religious song that was sung by slaves when they worked or whenever they wanted to.


 * __//Everyday Life of a Slave//__**

//In the middle to late 1700's, slaves were treated differently than what we may have envisioned as life on the large Southern plantations of the mid 1800's. Archaeologists' research shows us that in the late 1700's slaves lived in small huts built of upright poles set in a trench, covered with clay, with a thatch or plant leaf roof and a dirt floor. The huts were small measuring approximately 9 feet by 14 feet. The huts were not strong and only lasted about 10 years. In the mid 1800's, after the American Revolution, there were very limited improvements to the living conditions of slaves. Slaves now lived on plantations in neat rows of small wooden cabins. The slaves spent most of their time outside. They cooked their meals on outdoor hearths, which were large open pits, filled with charcoal and broken pottery. The typical diet of a slave consisted of mainly of vegetation or plants, mostly dirty rice. Meat was uncommon in a slave's diet and would have been considered a real luxury. When slaves were able to get meat,it was usually the least meaty cut of the animal such as the legs, feet, jaw or skull. Slaves used these cuts of meat as seasoning for their stews or "one pot" meals which, again, were mostly vegetables or plants. The stews were made early in the day and simmered on low heat all day until the slaves returned in the evening from their daily work. An interesting fact found in this article on SCIway.net, the South Carolina Information Highway, "The Lives of African-American Slaves in Carolina During the 18th Century", is that slaves often burned corn cobs in smudge pots as a way of keeping insects away. Tobacco use was very common among 18th Century slaves. Slaves did not have many possessions but archaeologists have found glass beads as they dug around the site of slave settlements. Glass beads were uncommon and may have something to do with their African heritage.//