Much written on African American slavery in North America has focused on the roles played by agricultural slaves on southern plantations . Yet , bondspersons were often vital to the day-to-day operations of transportation industries , like steamboats and railroads , and were often indispensable to large- and smallscale mining operations before the Civil War . Moreover , unlike plantation slavery , which necessitated direct supervision of slaves and limited their mobility , slaves working for transportation and mining interests sometimes had much greater opportunities toward freedom .
The advent of steamboat transportation began during the Early Republic and functioned as a means of reducing the shipment costs incurred by merchants utilizing western rivers . Owners of flatboats and keelboats used such vessels to ship goods down the Mississippi River and to its tributaries , but flatboats lacked oars or sails and depended upon boatmen to steer the craft . In addition , they could only travel with the current , making a return trip up river next to impossible ; after reaching their destination the boats were disassembled and sold for lumber . Boat crews would then walk back to their original embarkation ports . Keelboats — slightly larger vessels than flatboats — travelled both down and up river , but the return voyage required oarsmen to pull boats up the river either by a towpath along the bank , or by tying the rope to a tree up river and pulling the boat along .
The volume of upriver traffic could not compete with that of downriver commerce , thus making keelboats non-competitive modes of transportation . Consequently , steamboats , already in use since the late 18th century and able to carry large amounts of freight , eventually became the generally accepted method of transporting goods . Since 1811 , when Robert Fulton launched his steamboat New Orleans , steamboats became major competitors in the transportation trade navigating western rivers . A French engineer , Michel
Life in the gold mines , California , 1850 .
Chevalier , who travelled the United States during the early 1830s , estimated steamboat tonnage grew from 35,000 tons in 1829 to 64,000 by 1839 , or 82.8 %.
Steamboats greatly reduced transportation costs , as they carried freight down river at one-fourth of flatboat cost , and at 5 – 10 % less than the overhead of a keelboat when travelling upriver . Consequently , steamboats travelling the Mississippi River not only competed for the carrying trade , but sometimes supplemented flatboats as freight carriers .
Slave laborers frequently served as “ roustabouts ” ( deckhands ), cooks , waiters , coal men and chambermaids . In terms of wages , deckhands earned around $ 30 per month ; however , masters generally collected their slaves ’ wages as additional remuneration for use of their “ property .” Deckhands often worked in the capacity of firemen — those who stoked the furnaces . Firemen transported coal and wood from the shore and then deposited the commodities into the steamboat furnace . Such working conditions were not always the most relaxed ; in the desire to increase fuel efficiency , firemen continuously fed logs into the flames , contributing to the immense heat of the boiler rooms .
Frederika Bremer , a passenger on board a Mississippi steamboat , commenting on the spectacle of the process and the condition of the laborer employed , described how the engine fires acted “ like yawning fiery throats ” and that “ a Negro stood naked to his middle , who flung in firewood .” Another observer watching slaves stoke fires on a Mississippi steamer — seemingly mesmerized as if witnessing a sporting event — told how “ it was a fantastic and grand sight to see the energetic Black athletes lit up by the wildly flashing flames .”
The constant loading and unloading of steamers made the roustabouts ’ duties a round-the-clock series of “ on call ” tasks . A traveler observed that “ Negro boatmen ,” substituting cotton bales for beds , were “ hardly ever … permitted to sleep undisturbed upon their only beds ,” at all times being summoned by an incessant ringing of bells calling them to work . Frederick Law Olmstead , future landscape architect of New York City ’ s Central Park , observed that ships ’ personnel often distinguished between the value of “ Negro ” roustabouts as compared to their Irish counterparts . Inquiring as to why Black laborers were assigned duties ostensibly less dangerous than the tasks performed by the Irish , an employee of one vessel informed Olmstead , “ The [ y ] are worth too much to be risked here ; if the [ Irish ] are knocked overboard , or get their backs broke , nobody loses anything .”
The physical labors of Black cooks , waiters and cabin personnel paled in comparison to those of the roustabouts , but the persistent engagement in leisurely activities of steamboat patrons kept these service providers busy . The quotidian aspect of service bells ringing throughout the day , the unremitting sustenance demands outside of traditional mealtimes and socialization of passengers in parlors required “ personal ” servants maintain mental and physical acuteness . Moreover , their manners required incessant deference to whites ( in keeping with Antebellum racial mores ), and an appearance one Mississippi traveler deemed the “ best dressed working-class ” he had ever seen . By contemporary standards , patrons of major hotels , airlines and cruise liners expect similar behavior and facades in service workers ; however , one could argue that the modern domestic is incentivized more so by monetary gain , not fear of the lash or reprisal .
Chambermaids employed by the more exclusive steamboat lines wore silk garments , as opposed to the cotton-based attire worn by those associated with standard , less monetarily discriminating passenger boats . Most chambermaids worked within the proximity of ladies ’ cabins , engaging in table setting and laundering activities . Other perfunctory duties included cleaning state rooms , changing bedding and ironing ; these tasks often commenced around 5 a . m . until late evening . The ladies ’ berth would serve as their sleeping accommodations , except during fully booked voyages when they would occupy whatever scarce floor space may have been available .
Male cabin personnel , also adorned in professional garb , and waiters had specific duties assigned , often consisting of filling coal stoves which heated cabins , running
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