The voice of the American slave: A quantified and humanistic study comparison of slavery in Texas and South Carolina

The primary question addressed in this dissertation is whether masters transplanted a system of slavery from other southern states into new areas in the nineteenth century or adopted new practices to accommodate a frontier setting. Furthermore, if there were differences between slavery in Texas and an established southern state, could those conditions be attributed to the frontier? This study of the effect of the frontier on Texas slavery combines quantified and humanistic data derived from the Works Project Administration slave narratives. This dissertation examines medical care, slave quarters and punishment to illuminate the differences in slave communities between Texas and South Carolina and the role of the frontier in manifesting these differences. Quantified data demonstrates that frontier conditions had a minimal affect on Texas slavery. The sparse population density, smaller numbers of slaves owned by individual planters, and lack of developed infrastructure had a distinct but minor influence on Texas slavery. Frontier conditions altered certain aspects of medical care, but did not alter the medical care system itself. Slave quarters in Texas and South Carolina were remarkably similar; however, Texas owners did not modify the structures for the dramatic weather differential in Texas. Finally, although frontier conditions led to a more violent slave system in Texas they did not fundamentally alter slave punishment. Frontier conditions triggered small adjustments to the slave system, but did not fundamentally alter the slave's experience.