7. Slave Children at Mount Vernon Began Receiving Big Tasks Around 11 Years Old
Another factor of slave life which varied from plantation to plantation was the treatment towards slave children. Children who were born to mothers who were slaves were seen as property and slaves even if their father was a free man. On some plantations, young children would be seen out in the fields with their mother picking the crop. Babies would often be seen on the backs of their mother if she was working out in the field and didn’t have an older child who could tend to her baby.
George Washington never cared to see babies out in the fields with their mother. Often, the babies would stay in the slave quarters with another female slave who would care for them. As the children grew, they would start to perform minor tasks, such as bringing water, watching their younger siblings, and gathering firewood. When they became around the age of 11 or 12, the children would start to perform a more physical task, depending on their strength. Washington did not allow the overseers to push the children into jobs they couldn’t do because he felt this would backfire.