Question

The African-American family under slavery was

a. generally stable and supportive. b. almost nonexistent. c. largely female-dominated. d. seldom able to raise children to adulthood.

Answer 1

The African-American under slavery faced many hardships for the family unit as the forces of separation were always imminent through the selling of members, escapes, death by diseases, the emancipation of some or other forms of disruption.

It was very difficult to form and maintain the whole family together: sometimes, two slaves of different owners married, living far from each other, meeting only when permitted; sometimes, parents and children worked and lived together; at some places marriages among slaves were not allowed or discouraged.

The separation of family members was frequent because male adult slaves had higher working value; it was common to sell male children and the fathers. After the separation, mostly, the time the children were kept by the mother. Finally, without male members, having a female-centered family, composed of mother and daughters was the most usual form of family structure.

So, the right answer would be c. largely female-dominated.

Answer 2

The African-American family under slavery was generally stable and supportive (option "A" is the correct one).

Although families were stable and supportive, the slavery condition inhibited family formation. Before 1865, when slavery was prohibited, African-American slaves could not marry legally in the US, since they were not considered "people" if not "slaveholders' property". Consequently, many slaves decided to live together as husband and wife without legal union. Some enslaved people who lived in nuclear families (father, mother and children) belonged to the same owner, while others lived in near-nuclear families (the father had an owner while the mother and children had a different one). Even worse, family separation could be a possibility through the sale of one or more family members, since the slaveholders had to right to sell and purchase them.