The Subordinated Relationship

Two friends of my late father's went on a fishing trip, years ago. After a day of fishing, they were returning to camp, when the boat hit a submerged stump and flipped over. One of the men could not swim. He exercised some quick thinking and let himself sink to the bottom of the lake. He pushed off from the bottom and rose to the surface, took a deep breath, then let himself sink again. He had to do this several times before his partner located him and pulled him to safety.

It was sort of counterintuitive, not to struggle, and to let himself sink into the abyss like that. He didn't even know how deep the lake was, at that point--perhaps ten-feet. If he had thrashed about in order to stay at the surface, he might have tired out before help arrived.

I am thinking, however, that this situation presents a more interesting situation, that people struggle to stay on the surface, wasting their strength, in order to avoid the descent into darkness and the potential for growth. They could let themselves sink into the dark before pushing up toward the light, again--staying in the dark a bit longer to study their surroundings.

Let's extend the metaphor to modern-day Black-Americans. Slavery lurks, as ever, in the psyche of Black people, like an unfocused nightmare from childhood, never mind that it supposedly ended 160 years ago. Everyone says how bad it was, how we should use American Slavery to condemn slavery elsewhere in the World; but no one wants to know much about Slavery in detail, or to pay much attention to how it actually affects people. I call the long-term effect of Slavery the "Subordinated Relationship".

The books that discuss the effects of Slavery do not get rave reviews. America does not have an official index of forbidden literature, but the unofficial index certainly contains books that deserve reading, among them The Slave States, by Frederick Law Olmsted, published first as articles in the New York Times in 1856, over a period of months, then in book form in 1859. My copy of The Slave States dates from 1961, the last date of publication, as far as I know.

Olmsted's modern reputation rests on his work as a landscape architect, probably America's best. He designed Central Park in New York City. But Olmsted led an interesting, varied life, as merchant-sailor, as a medic in the Union Army (a.k.a. the Grand Army of the Republic), and he worked for much of his life as a journalist involved with, among other things, with the "Abolitionist" movement, the movement to end Slavery in the U.S.

Olmsted discusses the subordination of the slaves in terms of the presumed paternalism of the Whites toward the Blacks:

  • page 41: One slave-owner's attitude toward his slaves is "paternal, familiar, and kind; and they came to him like children, wanting to be encouraged and guided."
  • page 51: The great trouble and anxiety of the Southern gentleman is . . . to prevent him from learning how to take care of himself.
  • page 64: Mrs. W. the landlady did not think this custom of letting servants go at Christmas was a good one. They were not fit to take care of themselves.
  • page 113: "Why, master, up in our country, de White folks--why some of 'em has ten or twelve niggers and dey jess lives and talks along wid 'em . . . and dey treats 'em most as if dem war dar own chile."

The second part of the subordination has to be the slaves' loss of fitness for an independent life:

  • page 76: Mr. W said his Negroes never worked so hard as to tire themselves. . . . They would never lay out their strength freely.

Olmsted watched a gang of slave-women sweeping a yard and driveway and felt depressed over it:

  • page 110: If these women and their children after them were always . . . to remain of the character and capacity stamped on their faces . . . I don't know that they could be much less miserably situated or guided more for their own good than they were. They were fat enough and didn't look overworked, harassed by cares, or oppressed by a consciousness of their degradation.
  • page 125: This is a very good illustration of the childlike manner and habits of the Negroes . . . notwithstanding the shrewdness of some of his observations. Such a mingling, simplicity-shrewdness . . . detracted from the weight of his opinions and purposes in regard to freedom. I could not help but have strong doubt that he would keep to his word, if the opportunity were allowed him to try his ability to take care of himself.