WebLog 4

1. How did plantation owners deculturalize newly purchased slaves?
The first thing that owners did was to take away the enslaved Africans’ identities by giving them a new name. They would repeat the name until the slave realized that this name was their new identity. They also had the slaves live in barrack-like structures where they experienced linguistic isolation. They were not able to speak to their owner because they couldn’t speak English, and owners didn’t allow instruction in English. Also, they weren’t able to talk to other slaves because they didn’t share a common language. African Americans had to create a language that owners and other slaves would be able to understand. They also had to create new methods of interaction since they came from a variety of different cultures (Spring 50-51).

2. Booker T. Washington attended Hampton, which was established by General Armstrong. What was Hampton’s educational program like?
Armstrong believed that the main purpose of educating African Americans was the development of work habits and moral behavior. The curriculum at Hampton placed an emphasis on hard labor. Male students worked in a sawmill, on the farm, as dishwashers, busboys, waiters, etc. Female students sewed, cooked, scrubbed, and plowed on the farm. Armstrong believed that this occupational training reflected the subordinate roles that African Americans would play in the economic order. Also, by learning the moral values attached to performing these tasks, graduates would teach other African Americans the habits and values that would make these tasks lifelong professions (Spring 58).