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Difficulty: MediumEveryday Resistance and Cultural Retention

"We had a field hand who was always breaking his hoe. One week it was three hoes he broke. The overseer swore he was doing it on purpose, but the hand just looked sad and said the wood was rotten. The next week, he was 'sick' for three days during the cotton picking peak. They couldn't prove nothing, but we all knew what he was doing."

—Adapted from a nineteenth-century narrative of an enslaved laborer

Which of the following historical concepts is best illustrated by the actions of the enslaved laborer described in the excerpt?

  1. Covert everyday resistance aimed at slowing down production and subverting the authority of enslaversAnswer
  2. B
    Grand maroonage, which involved permanently escaping the plantation to establish sovereign communities
  3. C
    A lack of collective political consciousness, which resulted in passive acceptance of plantation conditions
  4. D
    The adoption of West African spiritual cosmologies to seek physical protection from punishment

Answer

Covert everyday resistance aimed at slowing down production and subverting the authority of enslavers
The correct answer is correct because the actions described in the excerpt—breaking tools and feigning illness—were classic examples of covert, everyday resistance. Under the constraints of chattel slavery, where open rebellion carried extreme risks of deadly reprisal, enslaved individuals frequently utilized subtle, hard-to-prove methods of sabotage to assert agency, protect their bodies from labor exhaustion, and limit the profits of their enslavers.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical source excerpt
The excerpt details an enslaved worker repeatedly breaking hoes (sabotage) and feigning illness during a peak harvest time (malingering).
To identify the specific behaviors and context being described.
2
Evaluate the options against AP African American Studies historical concepts
These behaviors do not represent escape (maroonage) or passivity; they represent intentional, hidden acts of subversion on the plantation.
To connect the documented actions to the correct historical framework of resistance.
3
Select the option that defines this category of subversion
Everyday resistance (or covert resistance) is the term for daily acts of sabotage, slowing down work, and maintaining personal autonomy under the oppressive system of chattel slavery.
To determine the most accurate conceptual match.

Key Concept

Everyday Resistance and Cultural Retention
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Topics

Everyday Resistance and Cultural Retention

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