Although the life of most plantation slaves consisted mainly of work, slaves nevertheless found ways of enjoying themselves. Few masters worked their slaves so hard that they were given no leisure whatsoever. Slaves typically had Saturday nights and Sundays off. On some plantations, slaves had even more free time: occasional evenings, some Saturday afternoons, and all day Saturday during the slack seasons. And virtually all slaves had a few days off at Christmas. "I have no desire to represent the life of slavery as an experience of nothing but misery," wrote Josiah Henson after he escaped to freedom.

Saturday evening was party time on many plantations. Slaves looked forward all week to Saturday. They would gather to dance, sing, and generally have fun after the long chores of the week were over. Some weeks the parties would be low-key and informal. Other times they...