Final answer:
The white employee responsible for ensuring a profitable crop and managing the enslaved workforce on a plantation was known as the overseer.
Step-by-step explanation:
On the plantation, the white employee in charge of ensuring a profitable crop for the plantation master was called the overseer. An overseer or "master" measured each enslaved individual's daily yield. The role was a managerial one, akin to a supervisor, who oversaw the work of enslaved people to ensure that production goals were met. The overseer often employed harsh methods, including physical punishment, to make sure that expected daily amounts of crops like cotton were harvested. This was part of a larger system that relied on enslaved labor for economic growth and the prosperity of the Southern plantations.