Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section003/George Carter

Overview
George Carter was a former slave and living in Savannah Georgia during the Great Depression, who was interviewed on January 17, 1939, by Adams Morris in Savannah, Georgia for the Federal Writers Project.

Biography
George Carter was born in Norfolk Virginia in the mid-1800s. He was born into slavery and worked on the plantation with his family at a very young age. At 16 years old he was sold from his owner named Carter and found his way to a new owner named Dr. Arnold. During his time under the ownership of Dr. Arnold, George spent most of his time doing labor in the main house. During the Civil War, George was tasked with protecting Captain Porter, a local military captain traveling up North to fight. After some time spent working with Captain Porter he escaped and attempted to make his way back home. He used passing wagons and trains and arrived back at Dr. Arnold’s plantation in Georgia. However, Dr. Arnold sent George back and yet George escaped again, returning and hiding out in Dr. Arnold’s personal quarters. Dr. Arnold then kept him around to work in the house. Soon after General Sherman marched through Savannah and freed many slaves, including George. However, George stayed in Savannah at the plantation until Dr. Arnold’s eventual death. He then left Savannah and worked on the waterfront, loading cotton before he went down to aid in the Spanish-American War. Later in his life, while in his 70’s, George participated in the first World War as a steward. George became married in his 30’s and had 2 children. He resided back in Savannah Georgia.

Slavery
During the 17th and 18th Century African individuals were forcibly taken from their home countries and brought to the Americas to work as slaves. Slaves were property under the law and could be bought, sold, and traded as such. African slaves worked through most of the 18th century throughout the Americas in tobacco and later cotton fields.

Through the latter half of the 18th Century, the Abolitionist Movement was growing as well as opposition to slavery. A divide grew between Northern and Southern states as slaves became more valuable to Southern owners who owned large plots of land and plantations. By 1805 most states located in the North had abolished slavery yet some states continued the practice. In the South, the invention of the Cotton Ginin 1793 had heavily increased the demand for slave labor and helped expand the southern economy. As the U.S spread west, the south attempted to claim more land to expand its slave-based manufacturing economy to further. Tensions began to rise between the North and the South as the issue of slavery split two regions, and the South threatened to secede. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln took office in 1860, the Civil War began between the Union North and Confederate South. The war lasted until 1865 and after a Union victory slavery was officially abolished by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

Great Depression effects on African Americans
The Great Depression lasted through most of the 1930s and was the worst economic downturn to date. It spared no one from the 11,000 banks that closed their doors to the over 15 million Americans who lost their jobs, everyone felt the effects. However, African Americans in particular were disproportionately hurt by the depression. . African Americans across the country were only legally freed from slavery two generations prior and were just beginning to gain traction in society. Nevertheless, they were still subject to systemic racism and prejudice which led to high levels of job insecurity within these communities. During the depression, many African Americans who had jobs were the first to be fired, and due to a lack of financial safety were impacted the most.

The effects of the depression on African American communities varied throughout different regions of the U.S however they always suffered worse than their white counterparts. Throughout the South, black Americans saw unemployment hit 70% by 1933 in comparison to the 30% to 40% rates for white Americans. Similarly in Northern cities, black unemployment rates raised above 60% compared to 25% for white Americans. Furthermore, Black farmers who were in debt began moving in mass towards the North which would be known as the Great Migration. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during this time with the help of his Black Cabinet passed the New Deal which aimed to give support to hard-hit African American communities. However, due to existing Jim Crow laws, implementation at the state level was difficult and left black Americans without proper aid. The recession and the events thereafter had lasting negative effects on black Americans that served to curtail growth and prosperity. From the segregated camps created by the Civilian Conservation Corps to discriminatory practices within the housing market, black Americans continued to struggle well after the events of the Great Depression.