Slavery In The Antebellum South Essay

Words: 586
Pages: 3

Not only were southerners facing major diseases, but their slaves were being exposed to these same illnesses, plus more from their treatment and environment. Smallpox, measles, influenza, and typhus were the most common diseases that created an epidemic among the South. More than 95% of the people native to the United States dealt with these illnesses. The average lifespan for a slave owner was about 25 years old with a death rate of 1.2%, while the lifespan for a slave was, although rare, 21 years old with a death rate of 1.8%. According to the Article, “Conditions of Antebellum Slavery”, in 1830, the south became the source of slavery. Not only did “the heat and humidity of the South creat[e] health problems for everyone living there,” but …show more content…
Along with these conditions came the complaints of worm and skin ulcers and influenza. Childbirth was also a huge dilemma for the slave owners to face. As reported by the article, "Birthing a Slave: Motherhood and Medicine in the Antebellum South," they often had physicians come “to find solutions to female health problems so that enslaved women could successfully conceive and give birth” (Sano, Yulonda Eadie). In this same article it states that the relationship between a pregnant slave woman and the physician was crucial not only the woman’s survival, but the child’s, too. Many of the physicians did not know much about delivering a baby or treating complications that can occur after delivery. Most of the time, the physicians were experimenting on the woman during delivery due to the fact that they didn’t know much about what they were doing (Sano, Yulonda Eadie). Even though the best thing for the slaves was to have them see a physician to treat them, they often sought out their own healers that followed their practices and beliefs. Slaves and southerners had their similarities with the typically epidemic diseases, however slaves were seen to have more illnesses because of their conditions and their