Violence in Slave Society

Violence during the time of slavery consisted of many forms of violence. The most common forms of violence towards slaves were whippings and hangings. Many slave owners thought of slaves as they were animals and if they did anything wrong or that they felt was inappropriate, they would either whip the slaves with many lashes or hang them. In the film, 12 Years a Slave, Soloman, had a master who was a kind-hearted, however it was the overseer of the plantation that disliked him. They both had gotten into a fight and Soloman started whipping the overseer. A few days later the overseer brought over some of his fellow friends and decided to hang Soloman. Fortunately, Soloman's master stopped all the trouble and the ropes were cut off. Soloman was sold to another master, which was cruel and whenever he lied or didn't pick enough cotton in a day, he would get whipped with at least 100 lashes because his master felt he didn't work hard enough. On one of the plantations Soloman worked for there was a women who would pick more cotton than any other person that worked on the field including the men. Because of this, the master took pride in her and never wanted to beat her. The master's feelings toward their slave could change in an instant. Violence all depended on the master and the behavior of the slaves. If the master was pleasant he most likely wasn't as cruel as masters that just have hatred toward slaves and therefore would beat his slaves whenever he felt like it. If slaves were "obedient" they were most likely less vulnerable to those who caused trouble and tried to revolt.

Soloman getting hanged by the overseer of the plantation