The+Quality+of+Slave+Labor+and+Racism

AVG – In “The Quality of Slave Labor and Racism,” Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman assert that slave plantations were efficiently run and economical. They deny that slaves were lazy or inefficient workers and instead focus on the well-planned organization of the plantations. In contrast, other authors portray plantations as inefficient and depict slaves as disinclined to perform their duties effectively. Eugene D. Genovese begins his essay “The Black Work Ethic” by taking as axiomatic the assumption that slaves are lazy. He argues that African culture discouraged continuous labor, and this attitude was preserved by the lack of factory discipline on plantations. In “A Troublesome Property,” Kenneth M. Stampp argues that the plantation system gave slaves no incentive to work, so they avoided work by moving slowly, feigning (or actually causing) injury, and stealing from their masters. As a result, Stampp argues that plantation slaves were more of a “trouble” to their masters than an economic bonus. However, Fogel and Engerman counter Genovese’s argument about the lack of discipline by emphasizing that drivers strictly regulated their slaves’ work to ensure that it was done rapidly. They refute Stampp’s assertion that slaves were often inefficient by claiming that, although both slaves and free white farmers worked approximately the same amount of time, slave plantations were 34 percent more efficient than free farms. Genovese’s essay is also weakened by his treatment of African culture as a whole, even though Africa was a collection of numerous small tribes with their own individual beliefs. Therefore, his argument that all Africans only worked if necessary to survive is unrealistic. Stampp’s generalization that “almost all slaveholders had trouble in managing” their slaves (269) is also unrealistic given the extent of slavery throughout the South and the high price (and therefore economic value) of slaves. Only Fogel and Engerman satisfactorily explain how slavery managed to continue throughout the South and how the Southern economy thrived even though it lacked the industrial power of the North. very well written checked