Reflection on Evidence and Cotton Picking

Over the past couple of days, one of the things i have learned and realized is that many things we have learned in the past about history, could've potentially been assumptions. These could've been taken from non credible sources, and not having proper evidence, such as the statement Bill O'Reilly made. He stated that the slaves who dug for the white house were fed well, but had no evidence, such as a journal, to back it up. This helped me to realize that facts must be made from primary sources, and cannot be assumed, because that could make people think something inaccurate of the past, losing respect for people like slaves. I have also gained a new more in depth respect for slaves, and what they went through. I recently learned that cotton picking was increased before it was mechanized, out of fear of the overseers. Whips designed to hit slaves were made, along with other objects, causing many of the slaves to be scared for their lives and for their families. Just looking at the charts on the homework caused me to think about what could've increased productivity, but I wasn't able to even come up with the real answer, because it is extremely inhumane.