I was going to say, not to defend slavery, there were a lot of white families that didn't even have shacks. If you were white, no one provided for you. Not everyone was a wealth land owner that could afford an army of slaves. Most worked their arse off for pennies they were swindled out of and/or died in the street, and no one gave two f's about them, even to this day. Especially if they were Irish.

Hell even going back 50 years ago, my father has five brothers and two sisters and they all lived in a two bedroom apartment. My grandfather was a factory worker and earned enough to get by, but there were times they went days without food because starving with a roof over their heads, even if it was a crappy roof, was better than being on the street and starving.

At the very least slaves were seen as property and somewhat taken care of. You don't buy a horse, then let it starve or freeze. They might have only been provided the bare minimum and some were treated badly, but at least they had the bare minimum.

As someone who spent a year (years ago) sleeping next to a dumpster behind my high school and eating out of garbage cans, I can say I would have been ecstatic to have a guaranteed room and even a minimum amount of slop to eat.