Whether slaveholders were able to enslave Africans both physically and mentally.

"The Southern Slave owner was able to imprison both the mind and body of his slaves" Evaluate the following statement.

The white slave master wanted nothing more than to be most productive businessman he could. In order to accomplish this goal, the master needed slaves as a cheap and invaluable source of labor as a mean towards prosperity. This meant that they would do any and all the steps required to ensure that this continuous chain of free labor and immense wealth continued. Slave owners used both physical and psychological methods to try and control the lives of Africans. Although the Southern Slaves owners were able to control the slaves physically through bondage, slaves overcame the mental anguish placed upon them. Owners had no grip on the mind of their slaves, Africans learned to be mentally independent from their masters and stay strong for future struggles for independence.

The body of the African slaves was easily a puppet of the slave owners.

Scars of a whipped slave (April 2, 1863, Baton Rou...

Perspectives on slavery

English: The Old Plantation, ca. 1790-1800. Waterc...

The masters enslaving them in the first place, left the blacks with no physical freedom. Being kept on plantations or in the homes of their masters, slaves were not usually able to roam free in town or leave unexpected. Everywhere a slave went his body was under complete control. They could not leave the plantations without the permission of their owners or overseers. If seen in town, the slave would need to provide a note from their master to continue their trip or be severely punished. In the plantation field slaves were kept under the careful watch of either the master or an overseer so that no one could escape.

A major technique of controlling the bodies of hundreds of slaves was through physical abuse, usually done by the whip or switch. This tactic relied on the principle...