II. The Management of the Plantation.
Plantation life in Tennessee was more humane than is generally supposed. Great care was taken in establishing the negro quarters. There were several reasons for this, not especially peculiar to Tennessee. Health is an indispensable factor in the life of an efficient laborer. It saved or reduced the expense of medical attention. Sanitary quarters for the negroes produced contentment and thus lessened the problem of government. They prevented the spread of disease, and a consequent heavy death rate. They diminished crime among the slaves and on the whole made a good reputation for the master. Respect for the master was no inconsiderable force in the proper functioning of a plantation. The slaveholders discussed these subjects in the agricultural fairs and read papers on how to build proper slave quarters.
In an issue of the Practical Farmer and Mechanic, published at Somerville, Tennessee, the county seat of the most densely slave-populated county in the state, are given the following instructions relative to the establishment of the plantation buildings:
In the selection of his farm, he (the master) should have an eye to health, convenience of water, and a soil with such a substratum as to retain manures. His home should be neat but not costly—erected on an elevated situation—with a sufficient number of shade trees to impart health and comfort to its inmates. His negro quarters should be placed a convenient distance from his dwelling on a dry, airy ridge—raised two feet from the ground—so they can be thoroughly ventilated underneath, and placed at distances apart of at least fifty yards to ensure health. In this construction, they should be sufficiently spacious so as not to crowd the family intended to occupy them—with brick chimneys and large fire-places to impart warmth to every part of the room. More diseases and loss of time on plantations are engendered from crowded negro cabins than from almost any other cause. The successful planter should therefore have an especial eye to the comfort of his negroes, in not permitting them to be overcrowded in their sleeping quarters.[15]
This was an ideal that was regarded as a model. There was pride among masters as to the character and appearance of their plantations. In a description of a plantation in Haywood County, the following elaborate set of buildings is given: dwelling-house, kitchen, washhouse, storehouse, office, smokehouse, servants’ houses about the dwelling of the master, weaving, ice, and poultry houses, gin house, grist mill, flouring mill, wheat granary, stables, corn crib, overseer’s house, seven double negro cabins, thirty-six feet by fourteen, with large brick chimneys, closets, and other conveniences, all of which buildings are annually whitewashed.[16] If one family was to occupy the cabin, it was usually about 16 feet by 20 feet in its dimensions.[17] An effort was made to locate cabins among shade trees. If this condition was not met, trees were planted. Comfortable housing of the slaves was one of the real problems of slave management, and it seems that an honest effort in most cases was made to solve it. Proper bedding with plenty of blankets was furnished in the winter, and close attention was given to the food of the slaves. Weekly allowances were usually made, yet some fed in common. Five pounds of good, clean bacon, one quart of molasses, a sufficiency of bread and coffee with sugar were usually distributed to each slave on some designated night each week. Family rations were put together. Single hands received their rations separately, and then united in squads and masses. Some woman was detailed to cook their meat or make their coffee. The bread was cooked in the bakery for the entire plantation.
Two suits of cotton for spring and summer; two suits of woolen for winter; four pairs of shoes, and three hats made up the clothing allowance. The slave was encouraged to be neat in his dress.
The slaves were supposed to go to work by sunrise. They rested from one to two hours at noon and then worked until night. In summer, the plan frequently was to work from sunrise to 8:00 o’clock a.m., then breakfast, work until 12:00 o’clock at noon, rest two hours, and then work until night. They always quit work at noon on Saturday to prepare for Sunday.
Various plans were used to stimulate the slaves to work. One of the most effective was “task week.” The negroes varied among themselves considerably as to the rapidity with which they could perform their labor. It was this very fact that constituted the basis of the “task” system. According to this system, a slave could work for himself or play when he had finished his assigned task. Some masters permitted the slaves to cultivate a few acres for themselves.
Prompt attention in case of sickness was a vastly important matter among slaves. Masters, mistresses, and overseers usually knew a great many home remedies which, if given in time, would suffice for a large number of complaints. A good amount of red pepper was used in the vegetables. This was supposed to stimulate the system, prevent sore throat, and render the system less liable to chills and fevers.