Field hands were
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
who labored in the plantation fields. They commonly were used to plant, tend, and harvest
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
,
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
, and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
.
Chores
Field slaves usually worked in the fields from sunrise to sundown while being monitored by an
overseer
Overseer may refer to:
Professions
* Supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others
*Plantation overseer, often in the context of forced labor or slavery
*Overseer of the poor, an official who administered r ...
. The overseer ensured that slaves did not slow down or cease their field work until the day was over.
Clothing
Field slaves were given one outfit annually. During the winter time, field slaves were given additional clothing, or material to make additional cloth, in order to keep warm.
Children
Children did not go to school and were put to work as young as they were able. Younger children were given lighter tasks, like fetching meals and guarding livestock. Slave children received little to no clothing until they reached
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a ...
.
They were given gender-appropriate clothing.
Women
Women were given long dresses to wear in the summer. During the winter they made themselves a shawl and
pantalettes
Pantalettes are undergarments covering the legs worn by women, girls, and very young boys (before they were breeched) in the early- to mid-19th century.
Pantalettes originated in France in the early 19th century, and quickly spread to Britain ...
.
Women often wore turbans on the heads, covering their hair.
Men
Men were given pants to wear during the summer and then in the winter they were also given long coats to wear.
Meals
Field slaves were given weekly rations of food by their master, which included meat, corn meal and flour. If permitted, the slaves could have a garden to grow themselves fresh vegetables.
Otherwise they would make a meal from their rations and anything else they could find.
See also
*
Field holler
The field holler or field call is mostly a historical type of vocal work song sung by field slaves in the United States (and later by African American forced laborers accused of violating vagrancy laws) to accompany their tasked work, to commun ...
*
House negro
A house slave was a slave who worked, and often lived, in the house of the slave-owner, performing domestic labor. House slaves performed largely the same duties as all domestic workers throughout history, such as cooking, cleaning, serving meals, ...
*
Treatment of the enslaved in the United States
The treatment of slaves in the United States often included sexual abuse and rape, the denial of education, and punishments like whippings. Families were often split up by the sale of one or more members, usually never to see or hear of each o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Field Slaves
Slavery in the United States
Plantations in the United States