The section I am covering is ony the plantation "leadership." I put this word in quotes because who was in charge of the operation of sites where slaves were worked is questionable, and that I would say is the main point of the section.
It begins by explaining that most slaves lived on farms, not plantations, the latter being large operations where at least 100 enslaved persons were kept. There were many such places in the U.S.; however, they were not in the majority. In the Caribbean and in South America large plantations, containing even hundreds of slaves was normal. By comparison, Genovese says only about a quarter of blacks lived on large plantations in the U.S. So, here, the depiction of the plantation that we get from Gone with the Wind is somewhat of an exaggeration. Right along with the myth of Tara is the myth that slavery made masses of whites incredibly wealthy. Many whites, even some owning slaves, were scratching out an existence. Many masters, later President Ulysses S. Grant is even an example, worked right alongside slaves.
On the other hand, there were wealthy slave owners, and we refer to them as planters. This distinction between farmer and planter becomes very important post war as well; the planters were the true landed gentry, and one cannot understand Reconstruction without understanding the role of class in developing race relations after the war. The question would become whether the planter class would "side" with poor whites or with blacks...but that is another story I suppose.
As for overseers, some aspired to slave-owning, and, when so, overseeing could be a sort of training. In many cases, Genovese writes, overseers were relatives of slave owners. The author spends quite a bit of time in this section discussing the relationship between the overseer and the slaves. While African Americans have focused greatly on the relationship between slaves and their masters, Genovese concludes, surprisingly, that the overseer actually had reason to "curry favor" with the slaves. Two things, he says, were important when it came to evaluating an overseer: (1) whether a good crop was produced, and (2) what slaves thought of the overseer. One that was not liked would have a hard time getting blacks to work, and a favored slave might give very bad reports to his master of the overseer's doings. While the overseer could retaliate with beatings, many masters frowned upon too much beating to the point where slaves would not work. There is no way to know whether Genovese's depiction of the overseer is correct other than by reading other literature. Comparing his view to that of Charles Sydnor, there would seem to be agreement. Ultimately, cotton farming with slave labor was a business, and half-dead workers could not produce a crop.
Other important ideas in this section:
- Large plantations in America are mostly found in South Carolina.
- Genovese says there was not as much specialization (of "occupations") on small farms. Where there were ten slaves or less, there wasn't much division of labor.
- The author mentions "slackers, the inept, and troublemakers." Slaves apparently were not homogeneous, and as in all times there were those who did not accept their condition and found ways around it.
- Genovese also discusses absentee masters and resident masters. He doesn't spend much time on this, but he does say that non-residency was frowned upon by some planters, yet he writes that most absentee masters checked on their plantations regularly. A very wealthy planter might have plantations in neighboring counties.
- Between 1/3 and 1/4 of rural slaves worked under overseers.
- There could be close relationships between an overseer and slaves, though an overseer's treatment of slaves as equals was not acceptable. Likewise, Genovese writes, blacks might have white "friends" who helped blacks at times. These were typically poor whites.
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