Jeffrey Dixon AMH 2091-005

A Troublesome Property: Master-Slave Relations in Florida, 1821-1865 The article shed a lot of insight on master-slave relations. The relations ran much deeper than I thought. For instance, I wasnt aware of the many nuances that were widespread in masterslave relations everywhere. I enjoy reading African American history. What made reading this article much more enjoyable was that it focused on Middle Florida. I wasnt aware that there was a significant plantation slavery presence in Florida. I thought Florida was only a haven for slave refugees and the like. However, it seems that particularly in Middle Florida there was a slave-based plantation economy similar of other southern states. This wasnt surprising when I read that wealthy planter families were moving in from other southern states. Im more interested in why families kept trying to drive slaver y south. However, I was beginning to get the idea that the new planter families were getting in over their heads by moving into Florida. Other regions in the country echoed the same patterns of slave resistance that these planter families were experiencing. I believe there would be less strain on master-slave relations if slave autonomy was respected. Efforts to subvert the slave mind only led to more resistance. Often this resistance was so effective that it affected labor. Slave masters tried suppressing religious organization amongst the slaves. They believed the church was at the root of disciplinary problems. Some planters believed that religion was good for the master-slave relationship. However, they tried impressing their views onto the slaves, not necessarily the Bibles. Planters impressed upon slaves to be subservient to them than God. The slaves wanted a collective identity away from the fields. This worked in some

Jeffrey Dixon AMH 2091-005

instances, but slaves managed to hold church secretly. This was a sign saying the y cant be stopped. Another sort of autonomy that slaves had was marriage. Planters respected this because slaves behaved better. I didnt like how they further exploited slaves by marrying them out to other plantations. I thought this was an additional measure to take advantage of their labor. Overseers also courted slaves with gifts in return for favors. I thought it was very sly for slaves to avoid work by feigning illness. This was an ingenious way to avoid weeks of picking cotton in the sun. It is a little funny too that slaves would all of a sudden be ill right before harvest time. I can only imagine scores of slaves calling in sick so theyd avoid the fields. There were also times when slaves would try to physically harm their masters and overseers. I figured there would be a lot more attempts and success here given the African expertise in herbs and plants. However, slaves manipulated masters in much more subtle ways. The case where the girl dropped her crutches and walked away when she was freed was hilarious. She was excused from work for seven years which sounds like a remarkably long time to go without work. Slave relations in Florida were fraught with trials and tribulations. The relationship was built on fear and deception. The slaves conceived all sorts of creative ways to outsmart their masters. I admired how slaves deceived their masters using their wits. The master-slave relationship was tested on numerous occasions. Learning about the different tricks slaves used was very interesting. I would never have guessed the tricks the slaves used to outsmart others.