The Antebellum South What was life like for slaves prior to the beginning of the Civil War? Use examples from Harriet's narrative or information you gained from other sources to describe the institution of slavery. incidents of a slave girl.

In the Antebellum South, most slaves had difficult times characterized by poverty, very long-work hours doing demanding physical tasks, and psychological and physical abuse. They also had their families frequently torn apart.

Women, as recorded in Harriet Ann Jacobs work, were vicitms of sexual abuse on a constant basis.

Not all slaves were abused, and some slaves acquired relative wealth and status, but they were the minority. The vast majority of slaves had extremely difficult living conditions, and most importantly, they lacked the liberty that the US Constitution was supposed to guarantee.