Explain two different ways that masters tried to "brainwash" their slaves .

As a black studies teacher, I have personally compiled a list from a variety of sources on slavery and black psychology that show how “to make a slave.”  Below is a list of experiences a slave could expect from slave owners who want to dominate and overpower the slave emotionally and physically. 

Steps to Control the Enslaved 

1. Take a slave out of his known environment so he is helpless. Africans had very little knowledge of the world outside their villages or immediate surroundings.  Many had never seen a white man, the ocean, or guns. 


2. Take away his customs, traditions, language, and religion.  Take him from his family. Give him a European name usually taken from the Bible. 


3. Subdue and break the spirit of leaders so slaves cannot be unified.  Make slaves distrust each other.  Isolate slaves from the same tribes from each other.


4. Establish and maintain strict discipline through fear. This is usually done with weapons, whippings, or even denying basic human needs like food. 


5. Convince the slave that he is inferior.  Emasculate him; treat him like an animal.  Use him/her for breeding and deconstruct the institution of family in the slave community.


6. Awe the enslaved with the slaveholder’s sense of power.  Again, weapons like whips and guns are often used.


7. Persuade the enslaved to take an active interest in the slaveholder’s well-being.  The more the slave owner obtains from a slave’s hard work, the more the slave might receive.


8. Brainwash the slave that the master is needed to survive; imbue a sense of helplessness; make the slave totally dependent.

All of these tactics break down the slave emotionally as well as physically.  “Brainwashing” becomes easier when one is subjected to cruelty, violence, and feelings of inferiority.   In addition, eliminating African culture and values makes a slave more submissive and more ready to adhere to European values.  The study of black psychology seeks to identify the effects of slavery on black behavior and the black psyche as many feel that there are lasting effects of the institution of slavery on the social, political, and economic landscape we see in modern America today. 

I’ve included a link to an article by Marcel Parker if you would want any more information on this topic.