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Episodes from "Contemporary Issues in Social Studies Education," North Carolina State University (Fall 2009): 1 through 10 of 16

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  1. Slaves are for Profit
    date November 11, 1845 to December 19, 1846map GREENE, Alabamatags Slave, Health, Business, profit

    After reading through the Plantations letters and the excerpts provided by classmates I think that the overall theme is that monetary importance and gaining income is all that truly mattered.  A few of the interpretations that I have read from classmates mention that they were surprised about the “care and compassion” that both supervisor Lewellyn and Mr. Cameron had toward the slaves.  However,...

  2. Casual Affection: An Explanation of Duality between Affection and Dominant Ownership.
    date December 28, 1847map ORANGE, North Carolinatags Plantation Life, Cameron family, Slavery

    How can one person treat another as both indispensable and an object to be purchased? Frances Cameron writes to Duncan Cameron, “A man servant who formerly belonged to my mother is about to be sold, and has applied me to buy him [...] I am particularly desirous of purchasing him [...] But a good male servant in my establishment, is indispensable ...” (series: 1.3.3, box: 43, folder: 1023, date:...

  3. Slave Life and Sickness
    date November, 1844 to July, 1846map GREENE, Alabamatags Slavery, Slave master, Slave, sickness

    From the original letters between the Cameron family and their employees, slaves are often mentioned since they are an integral part of the plantation operation. Since the letters were not written or received by the slaves themselves, the language is often derogatory or just in reference to the slaves as property of value. These letters show the nature of the culture and the lack of respect and responsibility...

  4. The Second Middle Passage: Slavery Moves West
    date September 5, 1844 to December 1, 1846map ORANGE, North Carolina, GREENE, Alabamatags Cameron family, Slavery

    The second stage of the transatlantic slave trade was also called the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage was a horrifying experience for slaves headed to the Americas. Slaves were quartered on ships for up to two months and treated as cargo. They were often chained in shackles and kept below deck where they had to lay down because there was less than three feet of height. There was never enough food...

  5. Plantations and Weather in mid 1800's Alabama
    date June 1, 1845 to May 1, 1847map GREENE, Alabamatags Slavery, health, Cameron, Weather

    In the “Cameron Family Letters,” http://plantationletters.com/, many themes arise in the correspondence between the owners of the plantation, the people who worked there, and other friends or partners associated with its operation. In most cases, readings dealt with how many slaves were “in the house” because of some illness or sickness. However, there are also quite a few entries that made...

  6. Death of a Slave's Child... and a Mule
    date November 18, 1845 to December 5, 1847map GREENE, Alabamatags plantation, health, overseers, slaves

    Slavery in today’s world has been deemed an injustice, no matter the circumstance.  Due to this, most people would disagree with the notion of a benevolent overseer in the deep American South in the first half of the nineteenth century.  To suggest otherwise would be a major untruth, with today’s logic.  I am however, suggesting that there were a wide range of systems and methods practiced when...

  7. Slave Owner Uses Modern Medicine to Treat Malaria
    date September 21, 1846 to September 26, 1846map ORANGE, North Carolinatags Science/Technology, Medicine, Slavery

             In late September 1846 several slaves from the Fairntosh plantation in Durham, North Carolina fell sick with malaria. Their owner, planter Paul Cameron, tells his father Duncan how he provided medicine for his sick slaves as well as the traditional herbs and teas. “Since that time we have a great deal of chill and fever at the mill quarter in [unintelligible] I have made the best arrangements...

  8. "Weather" or not a slave was treated well.
    date September, 1845 to December, 1847map GREENE, Alabama, ORANGE, North Carolinatags Slavery, plantation, Weather, Slaves

    When we learn about slavery and the slaves’ masters we often get a picture of an evil cold hearted man, who would whip and torment slaves, while they worked in weather conditions that made it impossible to get any work done. We also often assume that their (the slaves) masters would force them to work whether they were sick or even near death. Using the plantation letters from the Cameron Family...

  9. Bad Medicine and the use of Galvanism in the Cameron Plantation letters at Stagville
    date October, 1846 to 1846map ORANGE, North Carolinatags Galvanism, slavery,, plantation, slaves

    There is numerous life situations featured in the letters of the Cameron Plantation. The focus of interest here is the life of the enslaved people as seen through the eyes of the Cameron family. Of course because of this we must interpret based on what we see in the letters. There are real human issues. These include affection, sickness, disease, travel, and home life just to name a few. The goal of...

  10. Greene County Goes Yellow with Fever
    date January, 1847 to December, 1847map ORANGE, North Carolina, GREENE, Alabamatags Plague, Cameron family, alabama, Slavery, Yellow Fever

    In 1847 inhabitants of the Mississippi River basin  had to deal with an outbreak of Yellow Fever.  Transmitted by mosquitoes, Yellow Fever caused symptoms including fevers, chills, headaches and nausea.  In the later months of 1847 the letters that overseer Charles Lewellyn sent to Paul Cameron about the condition of his plantation were fraught with the names of slave that were ill, recovering or...

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