SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH
Slavery was needed in the American South for many different reasons, one of them being a statement of economic status. If you were a slave owner you were powerful, and rich. Being a slave owner brought in a lot of money, but the slave labor was more of a political policy rather than economic. Slavery was used to punish "enemies of the state". In its most drastic form it was used for slowly killing off groups of people. White people also grew up with slavery in their homes, so they didn't see the wrong in owning another person. They didn't know a life without a slave companion.
DAILY LIFE
Most slaves lived in a one room, dirt floor shack well away from the owners home. The shacs had drafts, holes in the walls, leaky roofs, and chimneys that cought fire often. Shacks housed up to twelve men, women, and children. They either slept on the ground or a corn husk matress. Slave holders had "special whips" made for the use on human beings. The end of the the whip is loaded with lead and it's around six feet long. Slaves had no rights, such as freedom of speech. Slaves were aloud basic items for food, but any meat or vegetable had t be grown theselves. Slaves never earned the right to read or write. If slaves were to sing while working in the field slow songs were not aloud. They had to sing upbeat lively songs to keep them working. If slaves didn't perform the tasks they were to do properly they would be whipped or even killed. If the tasks were performed satisfactorily the slaves would be sold to a new plantation or state.