Kevin and All,
Time on the Cross makes the fantastic claim that on average slaves were
beaten .7 times in their lifetime (as I remember.) Michael Johnson, then of
UC, Irvine, now of Johns Hopkins University in a review, inquired exactly
what is .7 of a beating.
Harold S. Forsythe
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 1:29 PM
Subject: Re: Slave Narrative for WPA Project
> The evidence comes from those former slaves who were
> interviewed twice. When we compare the interviews given by
> the same person to white and black interviewers, the
> difference is usually quite remarkable. In the 1930s,
> elderly black men and women tended to tone down their
> recollections of the depravity of slavery in favor of more
> benign stories. They were not necessarily lying, since like
> everyone else they had happy moments in their lives as well
> as brutal or tragic ones. They talked about the happy
> things to the white interviewrs, and gave more balanced
> accounts to black interviewers.
>
> Slavery rested on violence. *Some* violence was necessary
> to make the system work. That does not mean that every
> slave, every day, was subject to violence. Indeed, studies
> of plantation violence demonstrate that it was rarer than
> you might think. But then, how much exemplary violence does
> it take to instill fear? It might be as few as the one or
> two public whippings per year that seem to have been the
> norm on most large southern plantations (if I am remembering
> the data from TIME ON THE CROSS accurately).
>
> The Virginia slave narratives--and they, after all, are what
> concern us on this list-serv--are quite clear on this. More
> than half of the former slaves interviewed recalled various
> forms of fairly extreme violence used on slaves.
>
> All best,
> Kevin
>
> ---- Original message ----
>>Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 09:34:08 EST
>>From: Basil Forest <[log in to unmask]>
>>Subject: Re: Slave Narrative for WPA Project
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>>What's the basis for the belief that the WPA former slave
> interviewees were
>>dishonest in their views on slavery over fear of the "white
> man"? Is this
>>the PC way to dismiss the evidence to the contrary on the
> treatment of some
>>slaves by their owners and the apparent benevolent feelings
> of the slaves toward
>>their previous lifestyle post-war and freedom?
>>
>>
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> Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
> Department of History
> James Madison University
>
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