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How to you know how most slaves were treated?

In college I took a class on the economic history of the United States. We had to read a buttload of books, and one of them was a comparison of the working conditions of the New England mill workers to those of the plantation slaves in the South.

In spite of the fact that this was a Massachusetts state college and the professor was generally liberal, we all agreed that the slaves had it much better than the mill dollies. By far.

There is much recorded history about both groups and it really isn't even close to being a fair comparison. The main difference, of course, is that the slaves were captured (by other black Africans) and sold to the white plantation owners against their will, while the (mostly) women and children came from northern New England and Canada voluntarily to work in the mills.

The striking difference was the treatment of injured, sick, or elderly workers. When a mill worker was injured (sometimes horribly in the machinery) that was the end of their employment. If they were too sick to work, they were dismissed and thrown out of the company housing. For good. Pregnant? Buh bye. Need to travel back home for a family funeral? You're fired. Mill workers were beaten and their pay was withheld for the slightest infractions. The mill owners kept reams of employment records, so these facts are not in dispute.

The plantation owners also kept good records of their workforce, and we can clearly see that slaves were kept in the "family" right through old age, long past their working value. They were allowed to recover from illnesses, they got medical care, they did indeed have their own gardens near their quarters, they were provided with clothing, clean water, and their shelter was maintained.

I am not saying that being a slave in the South was an awesome life, and the author of the book didn't either. But the case can be made from historical evidence that it was not a living hell for most slaves. There are indeed many horrific stories about violence from sadistic farm bosses, and that is what the American public seems to focus on with regard to slaves. The book/movie "Roots" sealed the deal for white guilt when it came out in the 1970s.

So, to answer your question, we know a lot about how the slaves lived in the American South in the 1700s and 1800s. Most Americans choose to only focus on the violence.

I wish I could remember the title of the book. Maybe I'll go digging -- it was an eye-opening read.