How did enslaved people create a community and a culture that allowed them to survive in an oppressive society?
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Much of the wealth of the United States was built on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Since the end of slavery, historians have offered varying interpretations of slavery and the experiences of the enslaved. During the latter part of the twentieth century, historians began to focus on the experiences of slaves themselves. They began to use evidence in new ways to reconstruct the viewpoints of enslaved people and understand how the enslaved acted in response to their condition. The documents and teaching activities in this collection include a rich variety of evidence—from poems to paintings to advertisements for runaway slaves—which helps students to develop their own understandings of how slaves coped with hardship, managed to undermine the system of slavery in subtle ways, and seized back some of the humanity stolen from them. The materials in this collection serve as a useful companion to ASHP’s thirty-minute documentary Doing as They Can: Slave Life in the American South. This collection is designed to demonstrate the following historical understanding:
Maintaining customs and community allowed Mount Vernon’s enslaved people to affirm their humanity in a world that denied it. Music, storytelling, and religion provided an emotional outlet and carried on traditions—some from Africa and others forged in years of enslavement. In the life-altering moments of birth, illness, and death, the enslaved cared for each other and came together to celebrate and grieve. This watercolor suggests the activities that enslaved people enjoyed during their limited "free" time, after sundown, on Sundays, and on certain holidays such as Christmas and Easter. ReligionReligion offered comfort to those facing a life of bondage. Some enslaved people were Christian. They may have encountered Quakers, Baptists, and Methodists in the local area. Caesar, an enslaved field worker at Union Farm, was also a minister who preached to local black communities. Some enslaved people may have continued African religious traditions or blended a variety of spiritual beliefs into their daily lives. Learn More CaesarAn advertisement was placed in a newspaper on April 14, 1798, seeking Caesar, an enslaved field worker from Union Farm who had run away. It stated that he could read, write, and “frequently” preached to other blacks in the area. This description of Caesar as a minister provides a rare window into the religious lives of enslaved people. Though we lack the words of enslaved people, we can speculate that religion, heard through Caesar or other ministers, provided comfort as they faced the horrors of bondage. Learn About Caesar African OriginsOn plantations throughout the South, enslaved people adapted African traditions to create a new African American culture. Objects found in the excavation of the cellar of the House for Families slave quarter (used from the 1760s to 1792) reveal connections between Mount Vernon’s enslaved community and Africa. Raccoon BaculumThis raccoon baculum (penis bone) found in the House for Families excavation is incised around one end, suggesting it may have been tied to a string and worn as a fertility charm. Raccoon Baculum, House for Families, MVLA. Cowrie ShellsCowrie shells may have come to Mount Vernon via the slave trade. A species of snail native to Africa and parts of the Pacific, cowries were used for both currency and ornamentation in many African cultures. The hole in one of the shells is natural, not a purposeful modification. Cowrie Shell, South Grove Midden, MVLA. Music and Storytelling
–Frederick Douglass, 1845Music was an important part of daily life for enslaved people. Singing and dancing could continue African traditions, make work more bearable, express religious faith, and provide an outlet for sorrow, joy, and hope. Some enslaved people played instruments, like fiddles and jaw harps. They also fashioned drums and banjos out of gourds. The seeds of bottle gourds—a plant native to Africa—were excavated from a Mount Vernon slave quarter. Storytelling provided entertainment and a way to pass vital information between generations. Martha Washington’s grandson recalled hearing an elderly enslaved man named Jack tell stories of “Africa’s climate, and of Africa’s wars, in which he was made captive…the village consigned to the flames, and he to the slave ship.” Songs and stories could also be subversive, allowing enslaved people to communicate secret messages or mock their masters. Listen to the Songs of Enslaved People Jaw HarpUsed in many regions of Africa, the jaw harp was a common instrument among the enslaved at Mount Vernon and other plantations. Musicians placed the rounded end of the harp at the front of their mouths and used a finger to pluck the central vibrating tongue (missing from this example). Jaw Harp, Wifi Project Excavation, MVLA. Slave CemeteryDespite the volumes of papers and letters that George Washington kept in his lifetime, very little is known about the history of the sacred wooded area thought to be the resting place for dozens of African Americans. In 2014, archaeologists at Mount Vernon embarked on a multi-year archaeological survey of the site in an effort to learn more about this space. Much work remains to be done in the Slave Cemetery before we can understand precisely how many individuals call this spot their final resting place, and where exactly in the burial ground they are located. However, this important project has already taught us much about the use of this space at Mount Vernon. Learn More The content on this page was adapted from Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, an exhibition on view in the Donald W. Reynolds Museum & Education Center from 2016–2020. How did slaves create communities?Slaves used terms of kinship such as “Aunt” and “Uncle” as terms of address for people unrelated by direct descent. Thus, slaves relied on neighborhood communities to shore up their most intimate relations and kinship to incorporate newcomers into neighborhoods. How did enslaved people create a community and a culture that allowed them to survive in an oppressive society?How did enslaved people create community and a culture that allowed the to survive in an oppressive society? Slaves often practiced their religion, a combination of traditional African beliefs and Christianity, secretly with their own ministers. How did slaves manage to maintain a community?How did slaves manage to maintain a community? Why did they work so hard to do so? Through patience, acceptance of what could not be helped, strategy of survival that said yes to life above all else. slave community acted like a generalized extended kinship system in which everyone looked after everyone. How did slavery impact the social structure of the South?The Southern colonies depended on slaves whether it was for the economy, society, or their own personal needs. Southerners who did not have slaves still depended on them just on the soul fact that they were beneath them and made them feel better about their place in society. How did slaves create communities?Slaves used terms of kinship such as “Aunt” and “Uncle” as terms of address for people unrelated by direct descent. Thus, slaves relied on neighborhood communities to shore up their most intimate relations and kinship to incorporate newcomers into neighborhoods.
How did African slaves keep their culture alive?And yet, even though they were forbidden from practising anything that related to their African culture and heritage, the native Africans kept it and their languages alive in America. One important way of doing this was through folk tales, which the African slaves used as a way of recording their experiences.
What methods did slaves use to survive slavery?Among the less obvious methods of resistance were actions such as feigning illness, working slowly, producing shoddy work, and misplacing or damaging tools and equipment.
How did slavery influence culture?Enslaved Africans left their cultural stamp on other aspects of American culture. Southern American speech patterns, for instance, are heavily influenced by the language patterns invented by enslaved Africans. Southern cuisine and "soul food" are nearly synonymous.
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