Final answer:
In the mid-nineteenth century, while exact percentages are not provided, the majority of slaves on American plantations worked as field hands, especially on cotton and sugar plantations, where they were integral to crop production.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the mid-nineteenth century, a significant portion of slaves were utilized as field hands on American plantations. While specific percentages of those working as field hands are difficult to ascertain, historical records indicate that enslaved field labor was integral to the operation of plantations, especially in the cultivation of labor-intensive crops like cotton and sugar cane. For instance, cotton planters relied heavily on enslaved labor, expecting an enslaved laborer to work ten acres of land and pick two hundred pounds of cotton a day. Overseers would enforce these expectations with harsh punishments.
Equally demanding, sugar plantations often comprised extensive work gangs, with virtually all able-bodied enslaved people participating in the strenuous and dangerous tasks associated with sugar cultivation. Given this context, it is reasonable to infer that the majority of slaves during this period were indeed working as field hands, although exact percentages may not be clearly documented. The reliance on agricultural slave labor was evident in the fact that by the 1850s, slaves in the South produced 75% of the world's cotton, placing them at the heart of the region’s economy. Besides cotton, the task system highlighted in regions like the Low Country for crops like rice and Sea Island cotton further emphasizes the prevalence of field work for enslaved laborers.