Question

What made it possible for some slaves to be able to buy their freedom?

Answer 1

A lot depended on the owner the slave had.

If he/she had a decent owner the results would be different than if they had a more immoral one. Slaves who had the option of buying their freedom usually got paid at the end of a whole year of work- not after a week like the average worker. They would always get paid less than the average white worker so it would take a while for them to be able to own anything. There were some cases where an owner would promise a certain amount and when after a year of work the slave came to collect payment the owner simply would not pay. There were cases where owners would string slaves along and after a year say to them "Oh unfortunately the crop didn't do so well this year, but I'll pay you for two years wages at the end of the next year" The owners didn't always follow through on that either. It was their attempt to get free labor forever while keeping the slave appeased and working hard by having him think he was working towards his/her freedom. The slave usually had little legal recourse when this happened. There were also slave owners that always kept their promises & owners who were especially fond of some of their slaves and would then let their slaves buy their freedom for a lot less work or money than customary. There were even cases where owners would free their slaves completely & give a little money to some slaves in their wills as a reward for their services during their lives but then some family members would lie & keep the owners wishes from the slave and tell them it was never in the will. In these cases the slave died thinking the owner deceived them when it was really other parties. For your project you need to decide what kind of people the owner, his family and his workers are to make the story. Some white slave owners were monsters while others had strong feelings for their workers. Some owners while not necessarily decent to the slaves, were "fair" (meaning they stuck to their word) and some slaves would be violent among their own communities too!

Answer 2

these are the options they gave me

Slaves began an underground trade in goods.
Some slave owners gave slaves an allowance.
The increased demand for labor gave slaves more power.
Taxes were collected from slave owners to provide funds for slaves.

Answer 3

i think Taxes were collected from slave owners to provide funds for slaves.

Answer 4

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