Elderly slaves of the Plantation South: Somewhere between heaven and earth
The lives of the aged slaves in the antebellum South revealed a mosaic of complex and unique personalities. The image of the Uncle Remus, storytelling old slave, and that of the contented Uncle Tom did not apply totally to the elderly men of the slave community and neither did the concept of the tot...
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| Format: | Dissertation |
| Language: | English |
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
01-01-1992
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The lives of the aged slaves in the antebellum South revealed a mosaic of complex and unique personalities. The image of the Uncle Remus, storytelling old slave, and that of the contented Uncle Tom did not apply totally to the elderly men of the slave community and neither did the concept of the totally Eurocentric old mammy. The elderly slaves contributed substantially to the creation and perpetuation of the African American slave community through such things as childcare, storytelling, health care, procuring food, and religious leadership while also aiding their masters in the operation of the plantation. The subsequent incapacitation of the old people became problematic economically, socially, and medically for many masters; however, such things as manumission and slave trading solved many of these problems. The worlds of the old female and old male slaves were in many ways quite similar. Certainly, both old male and female slaves would toil in the fields of the antebellum South with equal strain. However, the world of slave women allowed for the development of close interpersonal relationships with younger slave women throughout the day in the drop shot gangs. The childcare duties of the old female slaves held them closer to the plantation homes than those of the elderly male slaves. Old age produced for many old women a bastion of new found respect and worth. The medicinal talents and culinary abilities granted these women a special place in the hearts of other bondsmen and bondwomen. At times elderly female and male slaves lost a great amount of self-esteem because they were displaced by younger, stronger, and talented slaves. Nevertheless, their actions kept the generations together. |
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| ISBN: | 9798207911809 |