preview

1865 Dbq Essay

Satisfactory Essays

Back when people owned slaves, prior to 1865, slaves were not treated very well and they did not have many rights. They weren't given any rights and they were treated horribly. This was a major problem in the United States. To begin with, in document 1 it states that enslaved people did not have many rights. They couldn't have a wife, children, or a home. Also, they couldn't own any property or land. When the slave code was passed, their rights were restricted even more. This is because they wanted to control the slaves. They were afraid that the slaves would revolt. If they didn't have complete control over the slaves, they could fight back and cause a rebellion. Nat Turner's rebellion made a lot of slave owners nervous because close to 55 whites were killed and they needed to keep their slaves and plantations in order. …show more content…

Slaves weren't treated like people, they were treated more like property. In document 2 it is said that they would be sold at auctions and their families were often torn apart from different slaveowners buying them. This was often the case for many enslaved people. This is where extended families became important. If a slave's mother was sent somewhere else to work, her "extended family" (like her sister, grandmother, or friends) would take care of her children for her. Document 7 says that the two main reasons for the break-up of slave families were death and the master's decision. In addition, document 5 says that many slaves had to wear a device called an iron mask and collar to prevent them from running away and to prevent them from eating the crops they were harvesting. Iron masks were very unpleasant for slaves to wear because it caused them

Get Access