Life as an enslaved person began and ended as a war. And, as that was the case, another goal of the parents was to ensure that the young slave's allegiance was to the family and the slave community. This was needed, as slaveholders equally sought to make young slaves an ally of the slaveholding class and divide the slave community to gain more control over the slave community. 

As a result, it was a fight to maintain unity and the education of the young. Maintaining allegiance was not merely for the survival of the individual but also the survival of the unity within the community. Therefore, their education was imperative to maintain cohesion. 

To break up that unity and gain more control over the enslaved, slaveholders mainly relied on stoking envy and creating reasons to be jealous within the slave community by favoring and gifting slaves in certain positions with more advantages. For instance, some skilled slaves or domestic slaves were able to provide more for their family regarding food and clothing and protect their family from punishment or sale than other families. This sometimes created problems. 

"Watch out when you are gitten all you want. Fattening hogs aint in luck." proverb 

Although some privileges did create differences and jealousy, the privileges had limiting results. One of the reasons behind this was that when the occasion called for all hands to work a specific task, such as during a large harvest, all slave hands were needed, and the occupational divisions were minimized. For example, Moses Grandy worked in maritime occupations, but after his slaveholder squandered some of his wealth and had to sell eighteen slaves. As a result, Moses was forced to work in the cornfields with others. 

"Tomorrow may be the carriage drivere's day for ploughing." 

The problem with the slaveholder's tactic of dividing by privileging was that nearly every enslaved person had a family and/or friends that worked in different occupations. Therefore, looking down on family or friends was not something the slave community accepted; however, undoubtedly, this strategy of dividing privilege was effective and did sometimes work at causing division and infighting. 

But, most often, it backfired because many used their position and items of privilege to benefit others. One historian noted, "An impressive array of evidence indicates that by combined influences of African Americans kinship ties, social lives, and corporal punishment work to create a remarkably united black front. The communication network among slaves, which so frightened and dismayed the slavers, could not have come into existence or survive without the cooperation of privileged bondsmen."

Another tactic slaveholders used to divide the slave community, which was much more effective and could cause permanent or temporary disruption to slave unity, was when slaveholders forced bondsmen "to taunt, lash, and kill one another." The nature of these acts upended quarter culture; moreover, these acts sometimes caused physical and psychological pain that was hard to overcome. 

Other tactic slaveholders used to divide the slave community was to encourage enslaved people to embrace the philosophy of individualism. This tactic and method was usually inspired during a threat to the slave community, which called for the entire slave community to be responsible and punished for individual or small group acts. However, this method was also quite effective [when used] in encouraging the enslaved to perceive themselves as individuals and oust the wrongdoer(s) to be spared from the potential of shared punishment.

But the promotion of individualism among the enslaved was also limiting. For the enslaved, individualism did not come with many benefits, as slaves could not pursue their own unhampered self-interest. Those who did pursue individualism were often those who often lost the battle of the great paradox in seeking dignity as a slave. Some believed that enslaved persons had no rights among themselves that another slave was bound to respect. As a result, they often become an opportunist. "To the slave community, this individual was a corrupting force." 

However, enslaved people also helped to prevent individualism through quarter discipline [love], quarter sanctions [punishments], collective orientation [the "us" perspective], and family. For instance, discipline was reinforced by community activities and duties. It was the duty of enslaved people to take care of 'homeless, hungry, weak or needy' slaves. It was common for slaves to help one another in labor duties to ensure each person filled their quotas. One did not have to be a part of a specific slave community to receive assistance. Runaway slaves often received support from other slaves and free blacks. These activities reminded enslaved people of their shared experiences and grievance. 

By ensuring that most enslaved people maintained quarter discipline, many enslaved persons did not fall for individualism; those who did were always outnumbered because the numbers favored those who embraced community over the individual. Thus, there were ways a community could punish individuals that did adopt the slaveholders' values through ostracism and group antagonism. 

Slave division was harmful to the slave community because the conflict between a few individuals came "at the expense of others and did much to stir disharmony in the black community." There are examples of enslaved people helping, protecting, and siding with slaveholders

"Traitors are an unavoidable consequence of every situation of oppression."

A group of Pasquotank County residents recounts how "a number of Negro Slaves" and "Citizens of this State" conspired to transport runaways by boat to "the Northern States." The plan was thwarted when Toney, a slave owned by Samuel White, betrayed the plot. The petitioners asked that Toney be manumitted as a reward for this "highly meritorious service." The list of petitioners is incomplete due to the blotting of ink on the edge of the document. Other examples can be found HERE and HERE

traitors and those who violated community policy was punished. Traitors, often had to be move to another location beyond the reach of the local slave community. Violators of sanctions or disharmonizers were usually punished the scorn but sometimes with physical punishment.

[Note: When it could not be decided on how to deal with a situation affecting the community-enslaved people also had there own judicial system to help them judge in matters that required examination, evidence and testimony.]

Nevertheless, the written record of betrayal pales compared to the written and unwritten records of enslaved people sticking together. It was often noticed that "American bondsmen maintained such a unified front against slaveholders that the white elite found it difficult to crack the wall of silence that separated them from their' people.'"