© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

"S" is for Slave Labor

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"S" is for Slave Labor. Slavery was work, and for most slaves it was monotonous and relatively undifferentiated labor. Lowcountry South Carolina plantations were distinguished by the use of the task system rather than gang labor. Under this system a slave cultivated a certain measure of land—normally a quarter of an acre—and had the rest of the day to him- or herself when the task was completed. Fifty miles inland the choice between tasking or gang labor depended largely on the size of the estate. Small farmers with few slaves usually could not afford the task system. In the upcountry gang labor prevailed with slaves working on the traditional routine from sunup to sundown. Urban slavery had its special demands and labor practices. Masters could and did hire out slave labor to others.

Stay Connected
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.