Slavery as a cruel institution Cruelty can be defined as an inhumane action committed against an individual or group of people that causes physical or mental harm. Slavery, at its core, was a cruel and inhumane institution. From the idea behind it to the way it was implemented, it has degraded the lives of human beings and prohibited the fundamental freedoms that every man deserves under the Constitution of the United States. The three major areas where cruelty was particularly prevalent were working conditions, living conditions, and the loss of basic freedoms for slaves. Working conditions for slaves were as bad as one could imagine. Slaves worked from dawn to dusk and sometimes even longer. Solomon Northrup describes his experience as a slave on his Louisiana plantation: The hands must be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning and except for the ten or fifteen minutes given to them at noon to swallow. their allowance of cold bacon, they are not allowed a moment of inactivity until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often work until the middle of the night (Northrup 15) . Slaves lived in constant fear of punishment when they worked, and it was this fear that pushed them to obey. Northrup continues to say, “No matter how tired and weary he may be…a slave never approaches the gin with his basket of cotton but with fear. If he does not weigh enough, if he has not accomplished the entire task assigned to him, he knows that he must suffer" (10). He goes on to explain that after weighing, "follow the lashes” (10), however, was not the end of the working day for an ordinary slave. Each slave had his own respective tasks to perform “One feeds the mules, another feeds the pigs. another cuts wood, and so on (Northrop 11) Then there was work to be done in the slaves' quarters, work that was necessary for their basic needs and survival: well, at one o'clock. late, they arrive at the quarters, asleep and overwhelmed by the long day of work. Then, they have to light a fire in the cabin, grind the corn in the small hand mill, prepare dinner and the next day's dinner in the field. (Northrup 12). day” (Northrup 12). 14).