Slave Narrative Project Essay

The different treatments slaves received from their masters may have been caused by the different environments they were living in. After moving from the country to Baltimore, Douglass observed that slaves living in urban surroundings were treated differently from slaves living on plantations. Douglass notices that “a city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation” (Douglass 32). These differences can be seen through the experiences of George Womble and Douglass. Mr. Womble, a slave who lived on a plantation in Clinton, Georgia, says that “slaves on the Womble plantation were treated more like animals rather than like humans” (Womble 12). Children ate from a trough and shared meals with the animals, and his master would whip slaves “just to give himself a little fun” (Womble 2). Slaves were also punished unjustly. For instance, when he was sent off to complete an errand, Mr. Womble “stopped to eat some persimmons [instead]…of returning immediately” (Womble 13). As a result, his master “started beating him on the head with a wagon spoke” until “his head was covered with knots the size of hen eggs and blood was flowing from each of them” (Womble 13). This brutal treatment would not be accepted in the city. In urban areas, masters have “a sense of shame that does much to curb and check those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonly enacted

Slaves that are owned could, depending on whom their masters are, have a decidedly better life than others that are like them. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, it is noted that southern slave masters were often much more cruel

Frederick L. Olmsted’s journeys throughout the American South during the mid-1950’s gives readers an inside “scoop” on what living conditions were like for many slaves during the pre-Civil War years as they labored on various cotton, sugar, and rice plantations. His personal accounts and impressions of the slave system across the southern states – from Virginia to Texas - are well documented in a collection of his journals, “The Cotton Kingdom.” Much of the Northern population, as well as Olmsted, had a preconceived idea of how slaves lived and were treated in the South. After spending time on several plantations, farms, and homes of Southerners from all classes, and interviewing travelers, plantation owners, overseers, and even the slaves themselves, his perceptions, to some degree, changed. Olmsted’s observations and writings as a journalist for the New York Daily Times document some of his personal views of various participants within the slavery system in the Southern United States.

In the documentary of “Readings from the Slave Narratives”, I learned a lot of new things. Some of the things that I learned was when the slave's’ owner using bible to support their reasons. For instance, when the slave’s owner said that if the slaves work hard and do what everything, they would go to heaven. I found it this real odd because someone that follow what the bible says would never hurt someone else. The next thing that I learned was when the slaves would get only one pair of the shoe a year. This was very sad to me, because in the winter when their shoe is worn out, they would have to walk barefooted. When they walked in the snow, their food would bleed from the coldness. Also, they worked very hard, and some of them slept

Perhaps one of the strongest elements of slavery is honor. Honor has had a wide range of impact in history, whether it was shaping major dynasties and hierarchies, deciding an individuals’ role in society, or family ties and marriages. This sense of worth, high esteem, or virtue was also manipulated by slave masters in order to control their slaves. “The slave could have no honor because of the origin of his status, the indignity and all-pervasiveness of his indebtedness, his absence of any independent social existence, but most of all because he was without power except through another” (p 6). This element is not just a physical force, such as coercive power, which one can heal and

Whites have longed argued that slavery was good for slaves because it civilized them and that slaves were content to be held in bondage. But such is not the case, at least not according to those who were actually held in bondage. The accounts of slavery are greatly known by emancipated or run away slaves. One recorded account of slavery is by Solomon B. Northup's autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave which was published in 1853.

The structure of slave narratives in the antebellum usually began with information about slave’s birth and childhood to establish an identity and to prove to the readers that they were normal human beings, but

Slave narratives carry a huge importance in American history, because without them we would not be able to understand the extent of what slave owners went to with their “property”. The slave narrative is defined

Chapter 3 contains the aftermath of the ending of slavery in Washington and Turnage's lives and how they proceeded their lives as the "first freed". Of course, being in charge of their own lives a lot of responsibility came along especially since they had families to care for. For example, finding shelter in safe grounds, and feeding themselves.

During the times of slavery many people opposed the thought of forcing someone to do everything they say, to own someone. They believed in the freedom of others and to treat everyone equally. There were many abolitionists and slave narratives who wanted their side of the story to be heard. Aunt Harriet Smith was a black woman from Homestead Texas and Aunt Phoebe Boyd from Dunnsville Virginia, both slave narratives.

“SLAVERY was abolished 150 years ago, right? While it is true that slavery is illegal almost everywhere on earth, the fact is there are more slaves today than there ever were…” Despite the grim reality described in this quote, I believe Robert Alan successfully undermines a common misconception held by Americans, both young and old. Although we are brought up thinking that Abraham Lincoln with his Emancipation Proclamation along with the Civil War Amendments brought an end to the enemy known as slavery, in today’s society, however, that is sadly not the case. The harsh reality is that this problem never truly

Slave narratives proved that, despite the probabilities, many slaves managed to escape their humiliation and learned how to read and write. After escaping their captivity and making contacts with abolitionists, they were able to tell their story to others. When the abolitionist movement identified ex-slaves were interested in publishing their stories, white editors followed narratives to the dictates of nineteenth century emotional literature in order to appeal to audiences nationwide. Publishers and editors fortified themes that shocked the nation.

It could be considered almost ludicrous that most African-Americans were content with their station in life. Although that was how they were portrayed to the white people, it was a complete myth. Most slaves were dissatisfied with their stations in life, and longed to have the right of freedom. Their owners were acutely conscious of this fact and went to great lengths to prevent slave uprisings from occurring. An example of a drastic measure would be the prohibition of slaves receiving letters. They were also not allowed to converge outside church after services, in hopes of stopping conspiracy. Yet the slaves still managed to fight back. In 1800, the first major slave rebellion was conceived. Gabriel Prosser was a 24 year old slave who

Slave Narratives were written by the slaves themselves or narrated by them and written by a friend or a relative and some were even passed on orally. These narratives depicted the difficult lives of the hardworking slaves; description of cruel masters, whippings, difficulties encountered in learning to read and write, slave auctions and their successful attempts to escape as well as foiled escape attempts. One of the defining characteristics of the slave narrative is the testimonial or letter of authenticity generally written by a white editor or abolitionist friend of the narrator. In order to be published, black authors had to be endorsed by whites who could testify to their credibility and the authenticity of their stories. One of the defining

As far as history has shown, there were two types of slave owners’ wives: those who were kind to the slaves and those who were rude. Some women, like Mrs. Bachelor, found themselves drawn to protect the slave girls their husbands would take advantage of. Throughout Louisa’s time with Mr. Cook, Mrs. Bachelor was good and kind to Louisa; Louisa even referred to her as “the best friend [she] had in some time” (Picquet, 6). However, Mrs. Bachelor’s kindness could only go so far. As Mr. Cook continued to ask Louisa to do him favors and come to his room at night, Louisa continued to tell Mrs. Bachelor every time; the more Mr. Cook asked,