Slaves typically had more free time than a poor northern industrial worker. This is August Messersmith, from Missouri, describes how the slaves in her region were given the entire month of January off work 12:
My master let us come and go pretty much as we pleased… He let us go to other places to work when we had nothing to do at home and we kept our money we earned, and spent it to suit ourselves…
My father and mother had their own cabin to live in… We used to sing all the old plantation songs, but my father and mother were not such good singers. We all had good times along with the work. During Christmas times, and the whole month of January, it was the rulin’ to give the slaves a holiday in our part of the country. A whole month, to go and come as much as we pleased and go for miles as far as we wanted to, but we had better be back by the first of February…
We had quiltin’s, dancin’, makin’ rails, for days at a time. My goodness! We don’t have nothin’ to eat now like we did then. All kinds of game, wild ducks, geese, squirrels, rabbits, ‘possum, pigeons and fried chicken, my, women in those days could cook. Great big “pound cakes” a foot and a half high. You don’t see such things now-a-days.
Idk you tell me. sounds like better life than what poor blacks anjghn2
d whites live
