The Southern Plantation Overseer: A Re-evaluationl

A Re-evaluationl Overseer: Plantation TheSouthern SCARBOROUGH KAUFFMAN V\/ILLIAM whichbearsupon No figureoccupieda positionof greater the availablein...
Author: Milo Ray
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A Re-evaluationl Overseer: Plantation TheSouthern SCARBOROUGH KAUFFMAN V\/ILLIAM

whichbearsupon No figureoccupieda positionof greater the availableinformation in the managerialhierarchyof the management importance of southernplantationsis the southernplantationsystemthandid the contained by in diariesandjournalsauthored overseer.It was this agent,who, in great members groupandin the of the proprietary contacts measure,determinedthe successor failure accounts whoseprincipal of travelers on the largerestates werewithpersonsof the samegroup.Moreof plantingoperations of stapleagricul- over, manyresearchers have erredin their devotedto the production turalproducts.Amongthe majorresponsi- evaluationof the dataincludedin contembilitiesof the overseerwerethe welfareand poraryplantation records.It doesnotrequire disciplineof the slaves,the careof livestock a spectacular to discernthatinimagination andtheproduc- stancesof mismanagement implements, andagricultural weremorelikely crops.He as- to be recordedby disenchanted tion of stapleand subsistence proprietors tasks,and than were examplesof good management. signedgangsto work,apportioned thelaborof slavesin thefield.He supervised to factorwhichcontributed Oneimportant overseers of southern reputation was expectedto be sufiicientlyacquainted theunsavory medicalpracticesto de- was the existencein the LowerSouthof a with contemporary terminewhetherailing slavesneededpro- largefloatingpopulation overseers, of amateur provoked fessionalattentionand to treatminorcom- whosegenerallackof competence plaintswithoutoutsidehelp. To the over- a stormof abusefromcottonbelt planters. for insuring The members of thisgroupmovedfromone seerwasgiventhe responsibility that the slaveswere properlyfed and that plantationto another,offeringtheirservices clean. He at lowerratesthanthosedemanded by better they kept themselvesreasonably of qualifiedoverseers.In 1854a writerin The was obligedto makeperiodicinspections forthedistri- American Cotton Planter condemned"the slavecabinsandwasresponsible which butionof Negroclothing.Finally,uponthe presentloosesystemof doingbusiness" overseers to gain posioverseerdepended,"to a large extent,the enabledincompetent to givetheirprosecurityof the whitesagainstuprisingsof tionsand,as a consequence, 9 slaves." fessiona badname.Saidhe: in theplanta- . . .there are too many individualsgoing about Althoughhis keyimportance tion regimeof the Old Southhas beenac- over the countryseeking employnzentas overthe overseer 1This articleis based upon materialcontainedin a knowledgedby mostobservers, to ratherharsh doctoraldissertationsubmittedby the authorto the facbeensubjected hasheretofore of NorthCarolinain August,1961. in the fieldof ultyof the University by manyauthorities treatment In preparingthat study,datawerecompiledchieflyfrom southernhistory.3He has usuallybeenpor- threetypesof primarysources:(1) manuscriptplantation dissolute recordsin the SouthernHistoricalCollection,University trayedas an uncouth,uneducated, censusreturnsin the North Carolina;(2) manuscript slavedriver,whosetwindelightsconsistedof of NationalArchives,Washington25, D. C.; and (3) conabusingthe Negroesunderhis controland temporaryagriculturalperiodicals.The authoris deeply goals of his em- indebtedto KenanProfessorFletcherM. Greenof the the progressive sabotaging Universityof NorthCarolinafor his incisivecriticismand of stimulating ployer.The mythof thegeneralineptness guidancethroughoutthe long periodof reof searchand writing. classwascreatedby members theoverseer SugarPlanthe plantercommunityand has been per- 2V. AltonMoody,"Slaveryon Louisiana The Louisiana Historical Quarterly,VII (April, petuatedby writerswhosechiefinsightinto tations," 1924), 209. hasbeengained 3 For example,see LewisCecilGray,History of Agriof the overseer the character in the Southern United States to I860, 2 volumes throughthe eyes of his employer.Mostof culture CarnegieInstitutionof Washington,1933), (Washington: I, 502, 557; UlrichBonnellPhillips,Life and Labor in zhe

is an Old South (Boston:Little,Brown,and Company,1929), SCARBOROUGH KAUFFMAN WILLIAM 310. assistant professor oJ' history at Northeast p. 4The Cotton Planter, II (December,1854), ARmerican LoaisianaState College,Monroe,Louisiana. 372-373. 13

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seers,at reducedrates,thathaveneitherthe capac- thereputation of hisprofession hadbeenseriity or qualifications to dischargethe responsible ouslydamaged by the activities of "charlatans dutiesof overseer.The failureo£ theseunworthy and pretenders," urged proprietors "to give men,is visitednotupontheirowndemerits,butinrather discriminately uponthe character of all overseers.4 good wagesto a man fullyqualiiSed,

than to pick up at a low ratea merepreThe shortageof qualifiedmanagerial oper- tender." 9 Another veteranoverseercomativeswas particularly acutein Mississippi.plainedthat therewere "toomanyfarmers JohnH. Hairston,explaininghis decisionto who do not give the subjectof gettinggood retaina veteranNorthCarolinaoverseeras overseers, the rightbearing,andfor the sake the managerof his uncle'splantationin of gettinga manfor a few dollarsless,will LowndesCounty,Mississippi, complained bit- takea maninto theiremployment, to manterlyof the qualityof overseers in thatstate. age their domesticaSairs,who is wholly "I was determined," said Hairston,"notto unfitfor the place,or occupation for which employa halfwayoverseerwithoutI should they are employed."If proprietors would havebeentakenin as thereis plentyof that striveto procure competent overseers byofTerkindin thisCountry, andothersveryscarce."5ing themadequatepay,he continued,"our Progressive Mississippiagriculturist, Martin countrywouldsoonget ridof a floatingpopuW. Philips,experienced suchgreatdifiiculty lation,as overseers, and our farmerswould n procurlngt le servlcesot competent over- have honorablemen following,what every seersforhis HindsCountyplantation thathe manshouldlookuponas an honorable occuwasobligedto changeoverseers nofewerthan pation,whichwoulddo honorto themselves sixteentimesin seventeen years.Typicalare andto thatclassof menwhoarewillingand his experiences duringthe year 1856.Less expectto do theiremployer's justice.''10 thana monthafterengagingone,Champion, Despitesuch pleas,the "charlatans and to overlookhis"LogHall"plantation, Philips pretenders" continuedto find employment, hadbecomedisenchanted withhis new over- andthe reputations of theirmorecompetent seer.Champion hadbeendrunkcontinually, colleaguessufferedaccordingly. Primaryredidn't"seemto desireto governnegroes," and sponsibility for theperpetuation of thisinept refusedto enforceplantation rulesrequiring groupmust thereforebe assignedto those Negroesto attendpreaching."Hesaysit is a planterswho continuedto employsuchpersin to make negroes attend,and againsthis sons simplybecausethey couldbe engaged conscience," recordedPhilips.6The overseer fora few dollarslessthancouldmoreexperiwas discharged, but on the followingday, encedand betterqualifiedmembersof the -Philipsdecidedto allowhim to remainafter overseeingprofession.Unfortunately, many Championpledgedhimself"toabstainfrom secondarywritershave equatedthe entire liquorwhile-here;alsoto join a temperance classof southern overseers withthisgroupof society,if one be in Raymond." 7 The reill-paid, inexperienced, unqualified wanderers, formedoverseerretainedhis post untilJuly therebyproducing a stereotyped imageof the 6, whenhe departed aftervowingvengeance southern overseer whichdoesnotaccordwith againstPhilipsbecause of a misunderstandingthefacts. whichhad developedbetweenthe two men A numberof factorsmilitatedagainstthe overthe ownershipof a slave.8Philipsem- establishment and perpetuation of a more ployedtwo moreoverseers duringthe same yearwithoutfindingone who provedto be John H. Hairston to Robert Hairston, February 13, satisfactory. 1838, in Peter Wilson Hairston Papers, the Southern HisArticulate representatives of thebetterclass torical Collection, University of North Carolina. dFranklin L. Riley, "Diary of a Mississippi Planter, of overseers recognizedthe pernicious effect January 1, 1840 to April, 1863," Publications of the whichtheactivities of suchincompetents had Misslssippi Historical Society, 14 volumes. Edited by L. Riley (Oxford, Mississippi: Printed for the uponthe managerial profession as a whole, Franklin Society, 1909), X, 453. and theysoughtin vain to dissuadepropri- Ibid. 8Ibid., p. 456. etorsfromengagingsuchill-qualified mento Coleman, "A Few Words About Overseers," managetheir agricultural enterprises.Ala- TheDaniel Southern Caltivator,VII (September, 1849), 139. bamaoverseer DanielColeman, charging that 10The Sosthern Caltivator,XIX (May, 1861), 151. .

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competent classof overseers. In thefirstplace, dutiesbornebymembers of hisprofession was the taskof directingslavelaborwasdistaste- MooreRawls,managerof a Louisianasugar ful to manyandwasheldin socialdisrepute estate.In the followingportiorlof-amletter by a largesegmentof the generalpublic.In addressedto his absenteeemployer,Lewis an addressdeliveredat the firstanniversaryThompson, Rawlscomplains of the difficulty meetingof the UnitedAgricultural Society of managiIlg Negroesandof the longhours of SouthCarolina in December, 1827,White- of laborduringthe harvestseason: marshB. Seabrook referred to the"degrading I thinkthisis all I CanSayaboutbusinessmatters, function"whichoverseers exercised"inpub- as I have not time to write long. for I tell you lic esteem.''1l As a result,the overseerwas we have Cold rains here more than half the and at Such times I have to Stay at the relegatedto a statusin southernsocietyfar time. Stlgar all the time of nights. I left my beneaththatof the planterand even below houseathouse 7 o'Clocklastnight had to Stayat the thatof the smallindependent farmer. Sugarhouseuntil 5 this morning then in the 9 whichwas 14 hoursand I know that Withfew exceptions, membersof the pro- fielduntil was not one minutein the whole without prietaryclassfailedto accordtheiroverseers there rain& hardtoo. I Cantget a negroon the place therespectto whichtheirresponsible position thatwill makethe handsworkin Suchtimes,any entitledthemanddidlittleto encourage them longerthanI Standby them.l to takepridein theirprofession.Moreover, It remainedfor a Georgiaoverseerto furmanyplantersimposeddemandsupontheir nish the mostforceful expression of disilluoverseers whichfew mencouldreasonably be sionmentwith his occupation,which this expectedto meet. Few plantersreallyappre- writerhasencountered. "If there ever was or ciatedthe difficulties facedby thosewho di- everwillbe a callingin lifeas meanandconrectedtheiragricultural operations. A Burke temptible as thatof an overseer," he declared, County,Georgia,proprietor depictedthe life "I wouldbe rightdown glad to knowwhat of an overseerin the followingterms: it is, andwhereto be found.I am just tired Thus,masterof his own actions,and responsible of it, andwill quit it, as soonas I canfinda reallyto no one, he ridesoverthe fields,and inspectsthe work and the stock, at his option; betterbusiness.''15 experimentswith implementsand with soils at Anotherfactorwhichlessenedthe attracpleasure,and alwaysfruitlessly,since he is un- tivenessof the occupationwas the social aidedby the knowledgeof anyscientificprinciple; isolationwhich overseers wereobligedto enand, knowing that neitherhis situationor his forbidden reputation will be compromised whilehis cropcan dure. Shunnedby his employer, withtheslaves,discouraged comparewith those of his neighbors,the better to fraternize from paid of them, sometimesindolentlyvisits his entertaining companyand obligedby the chargein a carriage,and oftenkeepshis dogsand natureof his arduousdutiesto remainconhis boat, and indulgesin the agreeablepastimes of the chaseand the rod. Happylot is that of stantlyat his post, the overseerlived in a overseer for a man withouteducationgenerally, virtualsocialvacuum.In May,1858,Louisiandbornto labor.He is well paidfor playingthe anaoverseer MooreRawlswasquestioned by luxuricyus partof gentleman,andpossesses, for the his employer aboutthe progress of the crops time,the plantationin his care,with all its means in his neighborhood. Rawlsrepliedthat he of contributing to his comfortandpleasure.l2 had"notbeenoff of the plantation sincethe To say the least,the life of the average 3rd Ofoct.... SoyouCanjudgethatI CCan-not overseerborelittleresemblance to the idyllic 11Tke Southern Agricslturist, II (November,1829), existenceportrayed above.Overseer Garland 521. D. Harmon,the mostvocalspokesman for 12The Southern Cultizwator, II (June,1844), 97. GarlandD. Harmon,"Overseers his classin the LowerSouth,comDlained and Their Enjoyof The Southern Cultivator, XVIII (May, 1860), beingcontinuallyplaguedby requestsfrom ments,7' 151. his Negroesat night. "I can'teven readat Moore Rawls to Lewis Thompson,December24, night,afterthe toilsof the dayis past,"de- 1857,in LewisThompsonPapers,the SouthernHistorical Universityof North Carolina. claredHarmon,"withoutbeing bedeviled Collection, JamesCalvinBonner,"ThePlantationOverseerand with 40 niggers here aftereverythingyou SouthernNationalismas Revealedin the Careerof GarD. Harmon,"Agricultural History, XIX ( January, canmention," 13 Another overseer whohadno land 1945), 2; quotingThe Southesn Cultivator,XX (1862), illusionsregarding the onerousnatureof the 287. 13

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proawayfromthe overseeing knowmuchaboutthe cropsin ourvicinity." agriculturists manager, fession. Similarly,the dispositionof many "Thetruthis,"addedthe harassed no frequently, to changeoverseers "nomancanbegain[sic] to attendto sucha proprietors businesswith anyset of negros,withoutthe matterwhatdegreeof abilitythe latterhad to hirea less andthe inclination displayed,20 strictestvigilanceon his part.''16 The confiningnatureof the overseerpost capableoverseerif he wouldagreeto work is illustratedby an agreementof 1842be- for lowerwagesthan the incumbent,were distinguishedotherpracticeswhichretardedthe developtweenWilliamLewisSharkey, groupof manNoahA. mentof a moredistinguished jurist,and his overseer, Mississippi airedhis overseer Alabama irate An agers. agreeWard. The latter,accordingto the in the folagainstsuchpractices "except resentment ment,wasnot to leavethe plantation on pressingprivatebusinessor forthet}enefit lowingterms: noris he to havecompany This annualchangingof overseersis, in my opinof the plantation, the ion, one grand cause why employershave but Similarly, withhimon theplantation.''17 little confidencein them. By the time eachparty overseerof wealthyLouisianaplanter,Wil- becomes sufficientlywell acquaintedto underunderthe follow- standeachotherandget alongwell withbusiness, liamJ. Minor,was p-laced "Hemustnot leavethe plan- anothercomesalongin wantof employment,and ing restriction: tationexcepton businessof his Employer- for fear of beingturnedaway,offershis services less thanthe one you haveknowsit is worth He mustneverremainod the placeat night for to attendto yourbusiness.Of course,the cheapest withoutthe consent takesthe place.2l underanycircumstances or knowledgeof his EmployerX18 Suchrethrough- Arguingthatno mancould"provehistalents weregeneralonplantations strictions in a singleyear,theAlaburdened as a goodmanager" out the South.Thus,the overseer, to "geta manand withexactingdutiesandweightyresponsibili-bamianurgedproprietors for another;unchanging before him, prove ties,wasdoomedto leada lonelylife among not let money do and pursestrings, tie your his ignorantblackcharges. pleasesyouin that a man from you separate pay,coupledwith brevityand Inadequate Unhapwages."22 his high but respect every disadvanother of tenure,were uncertainty ambitious pily, few plantersin the Southwestheeded tageswhicl1tendedto discourage from enteringthe over- suchadvice. youngSoutherners for advancement received The lack of opportunity Althoughoverseers seeingprofession. induced profession overseeing the within incomesthandidmostother moresubstantial funcmanagerial best-qualified of the many their plantations, on southern whiteoperatives occupain other employment seek to tionaries vast with the wageswerenot commensurate whichtheywerecalledupon tions. Althoughan overseermightgraduate responsibilities to of a smallplantation to shoulder.The casefor the overseerwas fromthemanagement was pay his estate, of a larger overseership the nevermoreforcefullystatedthan by a Coto compenlumbia,SouthCarolina,overseerwritingin not usuallyincreasedsufiiciently and responsibiliduties the added him for sate 1849,issueof The Southern the Septembier, wereeletiesof hisnewpost.A fewoverseers Cultivator.Saidhe: buttheoppor-as stewards, For wagesscarcelyif at all in advanceof that vatedto positions wereextremely given to the Irishditcller,an Overseeris obliged tunitiesfor sucha promotion to managethe interestsof a planterwhoseestate yieldshim from five to twentythousanddollars a year. He has to punishand keep in orderthe negroes,at the riskof his life, and besidesall this, he is virtuallyexcludedfrom his kindred,and fellow creatures,and compelledto lead a life as secluded,in fact more so than the inmatesof Sing-Singprison,and all this is expectedfrom him withoutany profitto himselfwhatever.l9

Thereis littledoubtthatthe moreattracadordedbyother tiveeconomicopportunities seducedmanycompetentyoung occupations

16Moore Rawls to Lewis Thompson, May 9, 1858, in Lewis Thompson Papers. 1qFrancisGarvin Davenport, ed., "Judge Sharkey Papers," The MississippiValley HistoricalReview, XX (June, 1933), 76. 18Joseph Carlyle Sitterson, Sugar Country: The Cane (Lexington: Sugar Industry in the South, I753-I950 University of Kentucky Press, 1953), p. 60. 19 The Southern Cultivator,VII (September,1849), 140. 20 For the most candid exposition of this viewpoint, see Milton Baggs, Jr., "Changing Overseers," The Southern Cultivator,XVIII (July, 1860), 207. 21 The 24mericaCotton Planter, II (May, 1854), 149. 22lbid.,p. 150.

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limited.The only realchancefor advance- Thosewithintheoverseeing profession were ment lay outsidethe overseeingprofession. confrontedby additionaldifficultieswhich Thus,the mostambitiousmanagersaspired proceeded fromthe verynatureof theirposito positionsas independent farmersandsmall tion in the plantationestablishment. The slaveholders, therebyimpedingthe formation overseerwas pulledin two incompatible diof a corpsof topflight,professional overseers. rectionsby the concurrent planteremphases Sucha conclusion is confirmed bystatistics de- uponproduction of a largestaplecrop,on rivedfrom the statecensusreturns,which the one hand,anduponthe careof Negroes, revealthataboutfour-fifths of thoseengaged livestock, andfarmimplements andbuildings in thebusinessof overseeing in 1860werebe- on the other. His plightwas renderedinlow theageof forty.23 creasingly diflicult bythefailureof theplanter Finally,the propensity of plantation own- classto reacha generalunanimity of opinion ersto bombard theiroverseers witha constant on this subject.An overseermightmallage streamof complaintsand criticismengen- theinterests of a proprietor whoregarded the deredan atmosphere of discouragement and size of the cropas paramount and thenfind low moraleamongmembersof the overseer himself,in thefollowingyear,withan owner class.The averageplanterwasnot notedfor who placedprimaryemphasisupon longhis penetrating discernment of the difficulties rangeagricultural considerations. The fact facedby the man who directedthe laborof thatfew overseers remainedin one situation his slavesand supervised the cultivationof long enoughto decipherthe personality of his land. No matterhow zealouslyan over- their employeraddedto the magnitudeof seerendeavored to fulfillthe wishesof his theirpredicament. employer, the latterusuallyfoundsomepoint Anotherproblemengendered by thenature uponwhichto criticizehim. As onediscour- of theoverseer systemconcerned thedivision agedAlabamian phrasedit, "thepoorover- of managerial responsibility betweenplanter seer. . . is oftenerblamedfornotdoingmore and overseerand the consequentdegreeto thanpraisedforwhathe hasdone.... There whichthe activitiesof the latterwere subaresomepersonsin theworldthatneversuf- jectedto supervision by the owner. Underfer one chanceto escapeto say something standably,few proprietors displayedmuch derogatoryto the reputationof poor over- willingnessto entrustto hiredsubordinates seers." 94 completeauthorityover agricultural enterDuringtheyear1857E.A. Knowlton, man- priseswhich frequentlyrepresented investagerof R. R. Barrow's vast sugarestatein mentsamountingto manythousands of dolTerrebonneParish,Louisiana,becamein- lars.On theotherhand,the overseerargued creasinglyconcernedwith the failureof his with considerable logic that he shouldbe employer to proceedwithdispatch in making given control of routine mattersassociated necessaryrepairsto the sugarhouseequipwith the operation of the plantationif he menton the estate.DespiteKnowlton's perwere tO be held accountable for the results.26 sistenteffortsto accelerate preparations for It is diS;cult to discern how this fundamental the sugarharvest,Barrowdid not hesitateto reprimand his managerwhen the grinding conflictbetweenplanterand overseercould seasonextendedthroughChristmas and into havebeenresolvedwith mutualsatisfaction the new year. Earlyin January,1858,the to bothprincipals. headstrong proprietor directedKnowlton"to write&in theplantation journalandsaythat 23Computedfrom a surveyof more than fifteen hundred in seventecn sample counties throughout the anymanwhowasgrinding&Roolingat this overseers South. timea yearhe considered thatsucha manis 24 Thc Amencan Cotton Plantcr,II (May, 1854), 149. 25R. R. Barrow Residence Journal,January5, 1858, in no managerandhasno buisness[sicl witha Historical Collection, University of N. Carolina. SugarPlantationand he considered such a Southern 28In 1854 Mississippiplanter, Martin W. Philips, and mannothingmorethana DAMJackass s25 Garland D. Harmon, renowned Georgia overseer, enIn the lightof suchcircumstances, it is little gaged in a vigorous literary debate on this subject. See Smerican Cotton Plantcr, I (December, 1853), 377; wonderthatan airof frustration anddiscour- The 1t (luly, 1854), 214; II (September, 1854), 281-282 II agementpervaded theoverseer group. (November, 1854), 347.

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on the SouthCaroveteranoverseers Some Inassessingthe personalcharacterand largeholdingsin ricecoastaccumulated acumenof southernoverseers, lina managerial courseof their the during and slaves importantfactorsmustbe considered: land three for 1860 returns Census careers. managerial the size of the plantation;(2) the place (1) managers, thattwo ColletonDistrict of theowner(whetheran absen- indicate residence of J. Andersonand NathanielB. Alexander and (3) ahegeoor residentproprietor); Antee prosperous. wereastonishingly Adams, areain whichthe plantationwas graphical owned Chisolm, R. A. for theoverseer derson, Thereis little doubtthat the best situated. slavesand listed $10,000in real thirty-one with employment tendedto secure overseers and $35,000in personalproperty. property largestand most affluentplanters.The the combinedland and slave propertyof establish- The of a largeagricultural management forJamesKing, whowasoverseeing slaveforceclearly Adams, withits concomitant ment owned no Adams valuedat $40,000. the employmentof an experi- was as necessitated Spectacular slaves. than forty-two upper-class fewer man.Moreover, andcapable enced match quite not did they holdings, these wereableto paysalarieswhichwere were planters of PrinceGeorge's of JohnJ. Anderson those talented most the high to attract sufEciently in GeorgetownDistrict.The latter In like manner,the addedre- Parish managers. slavesandlistedcombined forty-seven with owned andhigherpayassociated sponsibilities Of course, holdingsof $45,ooo.28 of absenteeestatesusually property management the theydo but exceptional, were holdings of ableoverseers such in the procurement resulted could which property of amount the thoseunits.In addition,thegreaterfree- indicate for coast. rice on the by topoverseers of ab- beamassed of actionaccordedto overseers along dom society of to ambitiousand The moresettlednature appealed plantations sentee had the effectof prosucha post theAtlanticseaboard andrendered managers group self-reliant a morestableand permanent thana situationon a resident ducing desirable more in the developed which that than ofoverseers size. of comparable Overplantation Southwest. the of states slave newer An analysisof the statecensusreturnsof seers to be tended andriceareas in thetot}acco in in 1860revealsa significantdifferentiation olderthantheircounterparts the betweenthe various slightly characteristics overseer greaterperSouth,anda substantially in the Lower regions.As a group,overseers staple someplropowned and weremarried to those centage of the riceandsugardistrictsweresuperior consequence important Another erty.29 inanyotherstaplearea.Menof considerable socialstabilitywhichprevailedin the older in ability,experience,and judgmentwere re- slavestateswasthe tendencyforoverseers quiredto managethe intricateand compli- thoseregionsto continuein the serviceof a with the producassociated catedoperations longerperiodsthanwas to controlthe singleemployerforwith and sugar and tionof rice thosewho directed case in generallythe largeslave gangs which predominated the Southwest. in operations agricultural thoseregions.In addition,the highersal- Continuous termsof ten, fifmanagerial ariesofferedby affluentriceandsugarplant- teenand even twentyyearsor longerwere ers attractedmore competentmanagerial recorded in Virginiaand by someoverseers personnel.27 of his agriculcourse the In the Carolinas. VirThe demandfor overseersof superior turalsurveyof ScuthCarolinain 1843> South the on greatest probably was ability ricecoast,whereunhealthy a7Overseerson GovernorWilliam Aiken's vast Jehossee Carolina-Georgia South Carolina coast received inducedmanyproprietorsIsland rice estate off the climaticconditions $1,800 to $2,000 during the from ranging salaries annual Agricultural to leave the directionof their agricultural1840's. Private Diary of Edmund Ruflin in Edmund 1843, 1, March subordinates Carolina, hired South of in Surveyor affairsin the hands CollecHistorical Southern the Books, and Papers Robinson in Solon Carolina; duringthe crucialplantingand harvesting Ruflin North of University tion, IX (August, 1850), 202. periodfrommid-Mayuntil mid-November.De Bow's Review, Archives), most aSManuscriptcensus returns, 1860 (National1 ( volume the became overseer the Schedule Consequently, Carolina, South District, Colleton 2 (volume 3); Georgetown District, South importantsingleelementin the managerial 3), Schedule 1 (volume 4), Schedule 2 (volume 4). Schedule Carolina, hierarchyof the rice belt.

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ginia reformerEdmundRuffinvisitedthe tantlythatthecottonbalewasthe allsontrolof MajorSamuel ling motivein Mississippi.33 SanteeRiverriceplantation Similarly,an Porcherandhadwarmpraisefor the latter's Englishtraveler, writingto theLondonDawly who had"beenin News fromMississippi S. Hawksworth, overseer, in 1857,declaredthat his presentemploymentfor more than 20 "thefutureof the overseerdependsvltogether years."Such a term of service,remarked on the quantityof cotton he is able to mate evidenceof his great up for the martet. 34MaunselWhite,wealthy Ruflin,was "sufiicient madehispomeritas a manager,as well as of his regard Louisiana andplanter, merchant negotiaclearin contract for his employer& faithfulsupportof his sitionunequivocally SouthCaro- tionswith one of his overseers outstanding 30 Another interests." in the fall of lina low countryoverseer,JesseBelflowers, 1847.In resporlse to a queryfromthe overyearsin the employof seerregardingpossiblesalarytermsfor the servedfor twenty-five RobertF. W. Allston,a leadingGeorgetown followingyear,White repliedthat he was Bel- "perfectly Thehighly-esteemed Districtriceplanter. willingto employyou&desireyou flowersmanagedAllston's"ChicoraWood" to staybuttheFigureof Salarymustsurely& and adjoiningplantationsfrom 1842until certainly withtheamountof gain, correspond his deathin 1866at the age of fifty-nine.31fromthe pursuityou direct...."350ne untermof serviceby a fortunateresultof such pressureupon the The longestcontinuous whichthe authorhasencoun- overseerwasto increasethe latter'stendency singleoverseer, tered,wasthatof JohnsonG. Giles,who re- to disregard thewelfareof theNegroesin his of North Caro- determination to makea goodcrop. mainedin the employment lina planter,Peter Wilson Hairston,from As a consequence of thefactorsenumerated term of in the firstportionof this paper,southern 1843until 1876 an uninterrupted years.32 did not,as a group,measureup to overseers thirty-four set forthemby memOverseersin the LowerSouthwere fre- the exactingstandards by their bers of the proprietary to greaterpressures quentlysubjected class. Nevertheless, theirduandthistoo tendedto promotea the majority performed of overseers employers, degreeof energyand rapidturnoverof overseersin that region. ties with a surprising ownersin the seabordslavestates eSciency.Ironically, it wastheplanterclassPlantation and finan- the groupmostdisposedto crucifythe overwere,in general,well-established cially secure.In many instancesthey had seer which was primarilyresponsiblefor inheritedtheirlandand slavesand,as a re- many of the flawswhich did exist in the by financialworries. sult,werenot oppressed for the expansionof opportunities Moreover, a9A statisticalanalysisof more than fifteen hundred based upon the state censusreturnsof 1860 werenot presentin the overseers plantingoperations yieldedthe followingfigures: samedegreeas theywerein the Gulfstates. Upper Rice Sugar Cotton On theotherhand,manyof the enterprising South Coast Parishes Belt men who had acquiredplantationsin the 30.6 33.8 34.0 33.8 age Average fertilecottonand sugarstatesof the South- Percentmarried 46 57 67 66 westhad not yet madetheirfortunes.Con- Percentowning 44 40 66 sequently,intensepressurewas broughtto personalproperty 56 in thoseareasto produce 30PrivateDiaryof EdmundRuffin AgriculturalSurbearuponoverseers veyor in South Carolina,March22, 1843, in Edmund largestaplecropJs. Papersand Books. in the Ruffin The overseerof a cottonplantation ed., The Sosth CarolinaRice 31 JamesHaroldEasterby, LowerSouthwasgivenoneyear if he were Plantation vs Revealed in the P«cpersof Robert F. W. (Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress,1945), pp. lucky in orderto provehisability.If he did Allston 25-26, 278. notharvesta bountifulcropduringhisinitial 32 PeterWilsonHairstonPapers. Plantyearof service,he waslikelyto findhimself 33GarlandD. Harmon,"GeorgiaandiMississippi The So>thern Cultzaator,XIV (April, 1856), 111. lookingfora newpositionthefollowingyear. ing," Law Olmsted,iq Journey the Bact Coan34 Frederick GeorgiaoverseerGarlandD. Harmon,as- try (New York:MasonBrothers,1860), p. 61. Italicsin betweenplantingmeth- Orlglnal. sayinga comparison 35MaunselWhite to JamesN. Bracewell,October4 aftermoving 1847, ods in GeorgiaandMississippi in MaunselWhitePapersand Books,the Southern to the latterstatein 1856,concludedreluc- HistoricalCollection,Universityof NorthCarolina. t'n

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AGRICULTURALHISTORY

managerial system.It was the planterwho No greatertestimonyto the utilityof the refusedto payjustandadequate wages,who overseersystemcouldbe offeredthan that failedto accordhis overseerthe respectto contained in a letterof November, 1861,from whichhis responsible plosition entitledhim, a SouthCarolinariceplanter,JamesB. Heywho constantlyand capriciouslychanged ward,to the-Confederate militaryauthorities managers,who persistedin the practiceof in his district.Protesting against"thewithhiringill-qualified operatives merelybecause drawalof the Overseers fromthis neighborthey could be securedfor lowerrates,and hood,"Heywardwarnedthat,if suchaction who contributed to the low moraleof the weretaken,"notonlyindividual interests but overseergroupby his irresponsible criticism. the wholecommunitywill sufferevil conseproprietor furDespitehis deficiencies, the overseerre- quences."TheSouthCarolina ther assertedthat civil controlof the slave maineda keyfigurein the plantation-slavery regimeuntiltheendof theantebellum period. populationwas preferableto militarycon"theOverseersysHe was,in fact,an indispensable agentin the trol,and he characterized commercial agricultural systemwhichflour- tem as the bestcivil policesystemthatcan ishedin the Old South.The over-allsuccess beinvented."36 of the overseer systemis conclusively demon- In the finalanalysis,the conclusion seems stratedby the followingdevelopments: (1) warranted that,withinthelimitations imposed the consolidation andexpansion of the plan- bytheirbackground andby thevastresponsitationslaveryorganization duringthedecades bilitieswith whichthey wereburdened, the immediatelyprecedingthe Civil War; (2) majorityof southernoverseersperformed the retentiondespitefrequentcomplaints, of theirdutieswith commendable energy,efiitheoverseer systemby theoverwhelming ma- ciency,andcompetence. jorityof those planterswhose agricultural unitsweresuSiciently largeto justifytheem- 36Letterof James B. Heyward, November 12, 1861, in ployment of suchanagent;and(3) thestorm Heyward-FergusonPapers and Books, the Southern Hisof planterprotestswhichgreetedthe efforts torical Collection, University of North Carolina; see also Avery to Major General Richard Taylor, June 2, of Confederate authorities to draftoverseers Dudley 1864, in Avery Family Papers, the Southern Historical into militaryserviceduringthe CivilWar. Collection, University of North Carolina.

MERITSOF GOODAND POORSOIL As to the comparative valueof soil, it has been justlyremarked, that too much can hardlybe paidfor goodsoil,andthatevena low rentwill not makea poorone profitable. The labourof cultivating a richanda poorsoil is nearlythe same;whilethe latterrequires moremanure,andconsequently is moreexpensive.Poorsoils,at the sametime mayhave sucha commandof lastingmanures,as lime or marl,or evenof tempXorary sorts,like seaweed,or the refuseof fish,as mayrenderthemprofitable to cultivate.It is a wise maxim in husbandry, thatthesoil,likethecattlebywhichit is cultivated, shouldalwaysbekeptupin goodcondition, andneversufferedto fallbelowtheworkit maybe expectedto perform. Loudon's Encyclopedia of 24griculture

(London,1831)

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