The horrible practice of slavery happened during Spanish, French, British, and United States periods in North American. Slavery usually happened on plantations that grew huge crops of indigo, sugar cane, tobacco, and cotton.
Destrehan Plantation on the Mississippi River in Louisiana began in the early 1700's when the Spanish were in control. The plantation included a large main house for the owner and owner's family. It also included slave quarters, a main kitchen, a black smith building, and other buildings used to hold horses, cows, chickens and work tools. in the spring indigo was grown and then sold. Indigo is the color blue dye to color pants. Then, it changed to become sugar cane. They would cut the sugar cane down, squeeze it and then it would become sugar. They still make sugar cane that way today in the world.
- One building is the main kitchen for the house because they could not be safe with fire in the house. In the main kitchen they cook with fire and take food to the main house. They would cut up and mix meat, vegetables and fruits. This also served as the slaves' kitchen where the slaves cut up food, but instead of making a very fancy meal, they made a stew. Out here you see trees with large limbs, Live Oak, they grow mostly in the south and generally where it is wet. The trees provided a lot of shade to cool. You can see on the ground the leaves fall so it can be a problem because of fire. So, must be very very careful to keep fire in one area. This plantation went from the Mississippi River,in front of the house, to 6 miles that way. You can't see it, but it is 6 miles and goes to Lake Pontchatrain. It is a huge lake. Mississippi River, there, way back Lake Pontchartrain. In between is where they grew sugar cane and cut it.
This is where slaves lived also people who were free black people worked here but mostly black people were slaves. One family of slaves lived there and other family lived here. Real life, long ago, this house was about 1/4 of a mile from the house that you saw before. Here in Louisiana they had a different kind slave system. Creole system different from eastern America. Here they worked 5 1/2 days a week with 1/2 of Saturday and all day Sunday free. Slaves grew their own garden, go catch and kill and eat animals and share with main house, the plantation. Back then you see children around but no cooking fires because all this wood would be danger because bark causes fire. No teachers or school for slaves. But, some slaves learn to read, some spoke French, some spoke English, and some spoke Spanish; eventually the three languages combined called Creole using French, Spanish and English words.
Abraham Lincoln - President 1861 to 1865 President Lincoln as a boy
Abraham Lincoln worked as a lawyer. He worked for the railroad companies as a lawyer. The people of Illinois voted Lincoln into the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. He tried twice to become a US Senator but lost both times. One reason he lost his race for US Senator was because he opposed the Mexican/American War. During his campaign for US Senator he opposed slavery. The people in the North opposed slavery also. He never gave up running for national office and in 1861 he was elected the 16th President of United States. Lincoln's presidency ended slavery and preserved the Union. This shows if you believe and support what's right you can correct wrongs to right.