Final answer:
The assumption made about slaves brought to Catoctin in relation to labor was that they formed a permanent underclass designated to perform menial tasks crucial to the tobacco economy. Slavery legally enforced a system of inexpensive and racialized labor, deepening societal norms that devalued manual labor and allowed for little advancement among both slaves and white non-laborers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The assumption being made in terms of slaves brought to Catoctin as it relates to labor is that they were seen as part of a permanent, racialized underclass whose primary role was performing menial and labor-intensive tasks. Proponents of slavery, like Edmond Ruffin and James Henry Hammond, argued that slavery was beneficial because it provided a class of workers—the "mudsill class"—to undertake tasks that were deemed undesirable by the white population. Hence, slaves in Maryland, especially in the Catoctin area which focused on tobacco cultivation, provided a crucial source of inexpensive and coerced labor that was essential for the agricultural economy.
In Maryland, slavery was legally solidified with laws that ensured that slaves and their offspring would remain in bondage for life. This system of labor was not just an economic foundation but also deeply influenced the societal norms and perceptions of work, where manual labor was stigmatized and associated with inferiority.
The slave trade flourished particularly in regions where tobacco was the primary crop, such as Catoctin, and slaves were responsible for planting and harvesting, among other tasks. Over time, enslaved Africans came to represent a significant portion of Maryland's laborers.
While slaves did receive basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter from their masters, this paternalistic view masked the brutal reality of coercion and denied slaves the opportunity for personal advancement and self-reliance.
Task systems that allowed slaves "free time" after their assigned work were small mitigations to an otherwise oppressive system. With the end of the Civil War and the advent of freedom, former slaves were often as well equipped to start anew as their former masters, due to the hands-on skills they had developed.