Gang system

The column system ( engl. tion System ), a principle referred to in the history of the United States, according to the American planters in the 17th, 18th and 19th century organized the work of their slaves. Slaves who worked in the column system were divided into smaller or larger groups ( quarters, squads, gangs ) and had a day a certain number of hours of work, where they were monitored and driven by supervisors or foremen.

Differences is the column system on the task system (English task system ), which had to do in a day, a defined amount of work the slaves.

Dissemination

The column system was particularly introduced by such growers who wanted to maximize the working time in the interests of profit, who spent their slaves in the field. Most widespread was the system in the cultivation of tobacco and cotton kurzstapeliger.

Special features of the column system

Compared to the task system, the column system had a number of serious disadvantages for the slaves. Under the supervision of white overseers or ( much less often ) driven by black foremen - a position were selected for the mostly young, strong men - had to keep up with the pace of work specified step weaker slaves, women and children. On some plantations were carried out under the column system from sunrise to sunset. Under such conditions the slaves barely had time for the management of its gardens and agricultural land.

Since the slaves were under the column system barely able to provide for themselves, the planters told them to weekly food rations and seasonal amounts of clothing. Your self-sufficiency they have sustained only on a small scale; they continued to hold poultry and improved their diet by hunting or fishing on. Entirely accounted for by the column system of trade, many slaves had been driven with self-produced agricultural and craft goods. For such a production for own account was missing under the column system, both the working and the market. As a result, slaves could also hardly acquire the resources that were needed to bail around.

The column system was built on the plantations a new middle caste of white workers who were either employed as artisans or as overseers (English overseers ) drives the columns and monitored. Others were used to capture runaway slaves again. The guards changed frequently and rarely gained the full confidence of the planter. As a result, gained some black foreman considerable authority.

His sharpest form took to the column system in the Deep South, where a plantation economy emerged only after the founding of the United States. The planters offered in this borderland enormous earning potential, at the same time, however, the competition was so overwhelming that only those growers could compete in the market who were able to mobilize their slaves. The black foreman lost here in importance, while the white overseer increased, which earned a reputation for brutality.