BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : TYPICAL LIFE OF A SLAVE ON A PLANTATION IN THE DEEP SOUTH :

Most slaves were field slaves and would work all day in the fields, ploughing, sowing, picking the crops ect: Women worked alongside the men, but they had it particularly hard, as in addition to working all day in the fields they were expected to do all their own chores when they got home, cooking, cleaning, washing ect : In addition to the field work many planters required women to do quota of spinning before they go to bed. They worked as a group with the children carding the wool. Bob Ellis whose mother was head spinner on a Virginia plantation, said that as the other slaves worked she walk around checking progress, singing "Keep your eyes on the sun" See how they run, Dont let her catch you with the work undone, "The Point"  Ellis said to make the women finish before dark. It was might hard handling that cotton thread by fire light.

On large plantation only small percentage of slaves worked as house servants. Although these jobs seemed on the surface to be more plesant and higher in prestige many women tried to avoid them and some deliberately failed at there house work in order to go back to the fields. House work mean under close watch of a mistress who had high expectations when it came to her family comfort and who might not  know how to give clear directions. House slaves have no clear time even their meals had to be grabbed on the run, When white people were in the room they had to remain standing, resident of the big house expect the servant to sleep at the foot of there bed in case they wanted some thing in the night.