Types of labor utilized in the South
For English colonists coming to the Southern lands of North America, the issue of labor was burning. To enrich themselves easily and quickly analogically to their Spanish “predecessors”, they needed a cheap labor force having no rights (O’Brien). Thus, colonists’ first steps were the attempts to the exploitation of the native population. However, these attempts were not successful, as the indigenous population was not willing to work and resisted exploitation; colonists had to look for other ways to get a “convenient” labor force.
Gradually, another kind of labor took shape in the South: the institute of indentured servitude became the source of the labor force for colonists and the way to survive for numerous poor immigrants (ibid.). Indentured servants were young unskilled laborers coming to America who was not paid salaries; employers paid for their transportation, food, clothing, housing et al (ibid.). Unlike slaves, indentured servants worked under a 3-7 years contract, and an employer had a right only for their labor. Besides, when the term of a contract finished, an employer had to pay “freedom dues” to servants who became free members of the society (PBS).
Gradually, indentured servitude became a source of problems and threats for the property-owning elite: firstly, servants were becoming healthier, and the mortality rates decreased, which meant that employers had to pay “freedom dues” in more cases (O’Brien); secondly, English servants claimed to have rights equal to English citizens (ibid.); besides, free former servants became competitors to the colonist elite (PBS).
Moreover, as the demand for labor grew in England, labor cost increased, which was not beneficial for employers. Finally, the efficiency of the work of black slaves increased, as new generations knew English and had adjusted to the environment (Economic History Association). Thus, colonists needed a more “obedient”, “unproblematic” labor force, which caused a switch to the institution of slavery.
Portrayal of Southern Society
The watercolor painting dated c.1800 in (Freeman et al, p.93) is an example of valuable authentic fragments of the historical legacy that allow us to learn more about the events of the past centuries. The painting displays the ceremony (probably, the wedding) held by black slaves and demonstrates the way African and American cultures fused during the period of slavery. Despite colonists resisted to the advancement of African culture and suppressed it (ibid.), it did not disappear but evolved being enriched by American culture.
We see the outfit that looks not like African traditional costumes, but rather like slaves’ clothes; the characters depicted by a painter play traditional American musical instruments. We cannot state with confidence, but the movements of the characters also do not look like those present in African traditional dance. The picture illustrates that though a community may lose its rights, economic independence, and prosperity, it does not lose its aspiration for expressing its ideas, beliefs, and spirit through culture, which may evolve but lives until its carriers are alive.
Northern vs. Southern demography
One of the factors that influenced the difference in demography between the New England and the Southern Colonies was climate: in the North, it was not so hot, and low temperatures in winter killed disease-breaking insects; thus, the birth rate in the New England was about 3 times higher than the mortality rate (Citizendium). Another factor was the reason for settlers’ coming: while the New England colonists came with their families to settle there, the Southern colonists came alone to earn the fortune, and young male servants also came alone (Carr and Walsh, p.542); thus, a small number of women, together with severe diseases caused by the Southern climate, caused low birth rate and high mortality rate.
The number, as well as the percentage of slaves, was much higher in the South: of about 640,000 people, 40 percent were slaves (Economic History Association). In New England, the percentage of slaves was about 5 percent. Besides, the majority of the largest slaveholders lived in the South. considering that slaves were very poor, this means that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest strata of the community was much bigger in the South than in the East.
In 1790, in New England, the percentage of the black population was about 5-7 percent, while in the South, this number was about 55 percent (ibid.).
References
Carr, L.G., & Walsh, L.S. (1977). The Planter’s Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland. The William & Mary Quarterly 34 (4). Web.
Citizendium. (n.d.). U.S. Demographic History. Web.
Economic History Association. Slavery in the United States. Web.
O’Brien. K. (2009). From Indentured Servitude to Slavery. NIAHD Journals. Web.
PBS. (n.d.). From Indentured Servitude to Racial Slavery. Africans in America. Web.