Research Of Black Slave Driver In Southern Plantations

A black driver was a person who supervised and managed black slave laborers in a Southern plantation.He was under the white overseer,but played a more important role than the white overseer.He was the most important slave in the southern plantation.The planters chose the black men who were loyal,determined and had management skills to serve as driver and gave the driver the rewards and privileges of the ordinary slave,which saved their families from the most onerous work.The driver had many specific duties.Not only did he supervise the management of slave labor,but he also guided the filed work and solved the disputes between slaves.Depending on excellent management capabilities of driver,the planters would be more trusting of black drivers than white overseers.But the driver was not always at planters 'command,they always brought a lot of trouble to the plantations.The black driver was a special slave.The masters appointed him as a regulator of black slave while he was a black slave.There are many different views on the role of black driver in history.This thesis adopts a variety of materials to investigate the historical role of the driver,for example the black slave narrative,the autobiography of the black man,the record of the plantation owner and the knowledge of the traveler.It is believed that the majority of black foremen have chosen to be a "middle man" trying to maintain a balance between the planters and their black counterparts.The main content of this thesis is divided into four parts.The first chapter introduces the identity of the driver.In different periods and different regions,the number and authority of the driver are not the same.The planters chose the black men with management skills to work as a driver.The primary responsibility was to maintain the discipline of plantations,supervise the work of black slaves and sometimes necessary to arrange agricultural production in the field.There were many rewards and privileges for the slave driver.He could have better clothes,more food and a vegetable plot.The most important privilege was that the driver and his family were able to stay away from the driest and heaviest labor in the plantation.The slave owner also told the other slaves in this way that the driver was different.The second chapter mainly discusses the relationship between the driver and thewhite society,mainly with the white overseers and the relationship with the planters.The white overseer was on the driver,but they always had a lot of shortcomings such as alcoholism,laziness and abuse of slaves.So the slave owners often dismiss the white overseer and appointed a black slave as a driver to manage the slaves.The planter used all sorts of means to train the driver into a tractable manager.But this also can backfire.Many slave drivers behaved very obedient in front of their owners,but would cause a lot of trouble to the plantation when the master couldn't see them,which made driver a headache for the planters.The third chapter mainly discusses the role of the middleman.The driver was among the planters and the black companions.Some of the drivers chose to stand on the side of the master and punish slaves cruelly while some drivers were on the slave side and turned a blind eye to a slave when he made a mistake,gave the slaves more supplies secretly.We have a comprehensive review of the various materials when evaluating driver.After a thorough investigation of the material,it is found that all kinds of driver had been real,most of which were middleman.In the fourth chapter,it mainly describes the situation of the driver's escape from slavery during the period of slavery and the civil war,as well as the survival of the driver after the war.During the slavery period,some drivers fled to the North for being unable to bear the master's whip or expecting to redeem their souls.During the war,some of the drivers left the South,some of them destroyed plantations,and some drivers led the slaves to fight against their masters.After the war,black drivers was an important figure in the transitional period of Southern Society.They relied on the influence of the slave community and represent the free black to negotiate with planters,fighting for more pay and better working conditions for black companions.After reviewing the role of the black slave driver,we can see that the black driver was the most important slave in the southern plantation.His number is much higher than that of white men and his duties were more specific than those of white men.In history,there were good and bad drivers who remind us of the diversity of human nature.But more deeply,the reason why the black driver was cruel to his companion is the existence of dark slavery.