Direction 1301 Primary And Secondary Source Assignment In Or

Direction1301primary And Secondary Source Assignmentin Order To Complete

Briefly describe the contents of a. J. Hammond’s Instructions to His Overseer b. Lizzie Williams Looks Back on the Days of Slavery. 2. Using the secondary source Paternalism and Class Relations in the Old South and your textbook, briefly explain the background in which the primary sources were written. 3. Pretend that you are a foreign traveler in the American South in the mid-1800s. You have visited several plantations and farms and spoken to landowners, overseers, and slaves. Write a letter to one of your relatives back home and describe what life is like in the South of the United States. Remember that in order to do this, you must include information from the three sources and your textbook. Make sure that all your information is historically accurate!

Paper For Above instruction

The assignment encompasses three key tasks centered on primary and secondary sources related to slavery and plantation life in the American South during the mid-1800s. Each task requires detailed analysis and thoughtful interpretation based on the provided texts: J. H. Hammond’s "Instructions to His Overseer," Lizzie Williams’s reflective account "Looks Back on the Days of Slavery," and Eugene D. Genovese’s article "Paternalism and Class Relations in the Old South," supplemented by the relevant textbook material. The goal is to understand the perspectives, social structures, and everyday realities of slavery experienced during this period.

1. Contents of Hammond’s Instructions and Lizzie Williams’s Account: Hammond’s "Instructions to His Overseer" serve as a primary document outlining the economic, disciplinary, and supervisory expectations of overseers on a plantation owned by Hammond. It reveals a paternalistic attitude towards slaves, emphasizing disciplined labor while also implying a sense of responsibility for their well-being under the overseer’s management. The document reflects the plantation system’s utilitarian approach to slavery, viewing enslaved people as property necessary for economic prosperity. Conversely, Lizzie Williams’s memoir provides a personal narrative of life during slavery, describing her experiences, perceptions, and reflections as an enslaved woman. Her account offers insights into daily life, hardships, community relationships, and the emotional and physical toll of slavery, illustrating how enslaved people navigated their oppressive environment with resilience and hope.

2. Historical background of the primary sources: The secondary source "Paternalism and Class Relations in the Old South" and your textbook offer context to understand the environment in which these primary sources were created. The Southern plantation economy was heavily reliant on enslaved labor, which was justified socially and economically through ideologies of paternalism—an assertion that slaveholders and overseers had a duty to care for their slaves, akin to a familial relationship to justify control and justify the system's inequalities. This paternalistic view was used to rationalize the exploitative conditions and maintain social order. The plantation system operated within a framework characterized by racial hierarchy, economic dependence on slavery, and a social structure that reinforced the dominance of landowners and overseers. The primary sources exemplify both the economic motivations and the paternalistic ideology that underpinned Southern slavery, providing firsthand perspectives and narratives that reveal how these systems functioned and were justified.

3. Hypothetical letter describing life in the South: As a foreign traveler in the mid-1800s American South, I visited various plantations and farms, engaging with landowners, overseers, and enslaved individuals. From my observations, life in the South revolves around large-scale agricultural operations primarily focused on cotton, tobacco, and sugar. The landowners are committed to maintaining plantation efficiency, often through meticulous oversight. Overseeers like those described in Hammond’s instructions play a significant role in enforcing discipline, as detailed in primary documents. Enslaved people, such as Lizzie Williams, endure harsh physical labor, yet they maintain strong communal bonds and cultural resilience despite the brutality. The paternalistic attitude of landowners, as discussed by Genovese, often masks the coercion and violence inherent in slavery, while also fostering a sense of obligation and responsibility toward the enslaved—though ultimately, the economic interests take precedence. The social hierarchy is rigid, with enslaved Africans and African Americans at the bottom, subjected to constant supervision and control. The overseers and owners justify their authority through paternalistic rhetoric, claiming to care for the enslaved as part of “their” family, but the reality is often marked by severe discipline and exploitation. Overall, Southern life is deeply intertwined with slavery’s economic and social structures, which are maintained through both paternalism and coercion, a system built on racial inequality and economic dependence.

References

• Genovese, E. D. (1974). Paternalism and Class Relations in the Old South. The Journal of Southern History, 40(3), 319-340.
• Hammond, J. H. (c. 1851). Instructions to His Overseer. Manuscript, South Carolina Historical Society.
• Williams, L. (published 1930s). Looks Back on the Days of Slavery. Mississippi History Archives.
• Kent, R. A. (Ed.). (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas. Oxford University Press.
• Berlin, I. (1998). From Creole to African: Slave Trade, Black African, and the Making of the Modern World. Harvard University Press.
• Fogel, R. W., & Engerman, S. L. (1974). Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery. Norton.
• Genovese, E. D. (1974). Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. Vintage Books.
• McPherson, J. M. (1988). Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford University Press.
• Wilkins, W. H. (2004). The Slave Ship: A Human History. Viking.
• Oakes, J. (1998). The Ruling Race: A History of American Slaveholders. Pantheon Books.