Slavery: Harriet Smith V. George Johnson

1397 Words3 Pages

Slavery has always been viewed as one of the most scandalous times in American history. It appears that the entire institution of slavery has been capsulized as white masters torturing defenseless African Americans. However, not every slave has encountered this experience. In this essay I will present the life of two former slaves Harriet Smith and Mr. George Johnson and how similar as well as different their experiences were based on interviews conducted with each of them. The negative aspects of slave life were undeniably heinous and for that reason especially, it is also important to also reveal the lives of slaves whom were treated with dignity and respect. Harriet Smith was interviewed by John Henry Faulk in 1941. Harriet Smith was …show more content…

Davis once stated, “If slavery be a sin, it is not yours. It does not rest on your action for its origin, on your consent for its existence. It is a common law right to property in the service of man; its origin was Divine decree. "(Dodd & Woodworth, 1907) He also said "African slavery, as it exists in the United States, is a moral, a social, and a political blessing." Although he believed slavery was not wrong, Davis was not harsh or mean to any of his slaves. He gave his first slave that he purchased in the early 1800’s the position of overseer, which was an unusual position for slaves at the time. He respected his slaves and did not want bad things to happen to them. The slaves appreciated him and obeyed his …show more content…

George Johnson both had a comparable experience during their lives as slaves, their experience did differ in many ways. Johnson had much more freedom and privileges than that of Smith. Smith was not given the opportunity to obtain a common education such as reading and writing. Johnson’s master, Davis, was particularly invested in the education of his slaves. Davis’s school he was able to produce slave engineers, farmers and carpenters among other professions . Johnson was also relived of the more arduous physical labor when he became a member of Jeff Davis’s band, he was also exposed to a lot more due to his traveling while in the band. Smith however worked on the fields plowing and picking cotton. Due to Johnson education and talent he went on to be rather successful in the music industry, unlike Smith whom didn’t amount to much in her life as a free African American. Smith doesn’t seem to hold any ill will towards her masters and considers herself lucky to have had such a peaceful slave life. Johnson however, holds a much deeper appreciation for his master and admits to keeping in contact with his former master Davis and occasionally requesting financial aid, which his former master obliges to . Amongst all the differences the most significant would be the outcome of their lives after

Show More
Related

  • Reflections on Slavery: Individuals Born Into and Gew Up Under Slavery

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    My understanding of the life of a slave in this country will never be realistic as the world of a slave was full of hardship and misery that is unimaginable to someone who has not had that horrific experience. I can only hope and pray for the souls of former slaves like Mrs. Davis and Mr. Hughes that they were treated better than they could have been and that their lives were more complete with freedom. I cannot imagine the minute by minute fear that must have been commonplace for these people. In retrospect, slavery does still exist in this would and by understanding the life changing effects on the lives of those in captivity, maybe more can be done to eradicate slavery worldwide.

    Read More

  • Two Contrasting Views of Slavery in Literature: "Beloved" and "American Negro Slavery"

    2055 Words  | 5 Pages

    When examining the history of slavery in America, we have a number of different sources to draw on. These include the accounts of fugitive slaves, of slave owners and of abolitionists. There are also fictional works of black and white authors who use these accounts as a hook from which to hang their own stories. There are the analyses of those who identify as anthropologists, sociologists and historians. Not all that has been written on the subject has survived or been preserved, so at times, all we have are fragments of written accounts. There is also a distinction to be made between texts written at the time of slavery, such as Phillips work, and interpretative texts which have been written since by novelists or academics, such as Morrison's Beloved. All provide us with insights into the same period in history, yet do so from different perspectives and offer the reader the opportunity to hear from more than one homogenous voice.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: Portraying Slaveholders

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    Learning and knowledge make all the difference in the world, as Frederick Douglass proves by changing himself from another man's slave to a widely respected writer. A person is not necessarily what others label him; the self is completely independent, and through learning can move proverbial mountains. The main focus of this essay is on the lives of the American Slaves, and their treatment by their masters. The brutality brought upon the slaves by their holders was cruel, and almost sadistic. These examples will cite how the nature of Douglass's thoughts and the level of his understanding changed, and his method of proving the evilness of slavery went from visual descriptions of brutality to more philosophical arguments about its wrongness.

    Read More

  • The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

    2196 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout American history, minority groups were victims of American governmental policies, and these policies made them vulnerable to barbaric and inhumane treatment at the hands of white Americans. American slavery is a telling example of a government sanctioned institution that victimized and oppressed a race of people by indoctrinating and encouraging enslavement, racism and abuse. This institution is injurious to slaves and slave holders alike because American society, especially in the south, underwent a dehumanization process in order to implement the harsh and inhumane doctrine. In the episodic autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Frederick Douglass illustrates, through personal experience, the brutality and violence of slave life. As a young boy, Douglass is sent to Baltimore, an event that gives him temporary relief from the harsh conditions on the plantation. In Baltimore, he teaches himself to read and write and begins a journey to mental freedom that eventually paves the way to his successful escape to the North. Despite the hardships he endures, “most amazing is the indestructible total humanity of [Douglass] whom society called a thing, a chattel to be bought and sold” (Rexroth 134). Amazingly, Douglass realizes at a young age that the institution of slavery poisons people who might otherwise act in good and decent ways. His autobiography focuses primarily on the ill effects slavery has on slaves; however, he also acknowledges the damage that enforcing the laws of slavery has on slave holders. Through the use of imagery, Douglass masterfully illustrates the dehuman...

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Dehumanization Essay

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although dehumanization through whipping and all things physically painful and degrading may seem like the strongest form, but even being exposed to this kind of trauma at a young age and through growing up causes deeper damage than just visible scars. Douglass states how he was taken from his mother at a very young age: “For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child’s affection towards its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child.”(13).This dehumanizes slaves because the evidence clearly states that the purpose of this separation was to deprive slave children of the mental connection and passions naturally given by its mother. And with this act being done, it clearly goes against what has been promised to all men, proving once again, dehumanizing. Another example of the mentally straining times of slaves were when their masters passed. They were divided up like property, Douglass says”, “Here again my feeling rose up in detestation of slavery. I had now a new conception of my degraded condition.”(38). Especially through the process of “purchasing” and “selling” slaves, this once proves that the slaves were dehumanized in multiple ways. Since both the mental and physical aspects of dehumanization have been visited, it is now time to write about

    Read More

  • 'Pro Slavery Arguments In The Antebellum South'

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fredrick Douglas was born on a plantation with his mother but they were separated. According to the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass “Before the child has reached twelfth month its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off.” They did this for the main hope that the child would have no affection towards a mother figure. But there were other ways to separate family in ways that were even more unfair than the last. It includes the main slave owner going into the fields to spy on his slaves, “The slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feeling in regard to their condition.” An example of that is the next quote, “well does the colonel treat

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ranganayakamma's Freedom Road

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper concerns itself to the novel Freedom Road (1944) that depicts the situation after the culmination of chattel slavery in America on January 1, 1863. Chattel slavery involved the purchase and sale of African American slaves. The practice was institutionalized in America since the sixteenth century. The settlers in America included The Dutch, The French, The Spanish and The Portuguese. They were controlled by the British and wanted to liberate themselves during The American Revolution of 1775. They promised that the African slaves brought along would be liberated after the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence(1775-1783). This promise was not kept up even after 80 years. The African slaves suffered deep anguish for they

    Read More

  • Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglass’s work revealed how the slaves were treated as though they had neither value nor rights as human beings. Many times throughout Douglass’s life he witnessed the cruel beatings of his fellow slaves. One such example was when Douglass’s aunt Hester was whipped and beaten until she bled profusely (Douglass, 1845/1995, p. 4-5). The cruelty displayed through this occurrence was not uncommon in the slave-holding world. Although it seemed inhumane, the slaveholders of the South held no value in the lives of their numerous slaves. While it is not possible to know the actual feelings of these men, it is possible to speculate about the motivation behind their actions. What the Southern plantation owners knew was that their profitability and income fully depended on the productivity of their slaves. Therefore, strict guidelines and harsh punishment for not following them was imperative to keep their operations successful. What the slave holders failed to consider however, was the well-being and feelings of the workers. This greed for money was quite possibly what hardened their hearts against believing their slaves had actual feelings and needs. Consequently, some of...

    Read More

  • Comparing Harriet Jacobs And Phillis Wheatley's Poetry

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slavery in America created a legacy that has been both troubling and poignant. For instance, many of the tensions which exist between African-Americans and White Americans today are the result of this legacy. At the same time, there were individual acts of heroism by slaves (and by their sympathizers) which have been fortunately captured for posterity. Yet, sympathy isn’t what was wanted from two women; Harriet Jacobs and Phillis Wheatley. Both women use their horrific experiences not to gain sympathy, but to help abolish slavery.

    Read More

  • The Treatment of African and Native Slaves

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slavery will forever remain a tragically horrific stain in American history not only because of the actual act of enslavement, but the treatment of the salves. Slaves were largely of Native American and African descent. The accounts of Bartolome de las Casas and Olaudah Equiano provide two uniquely different viewpoints on their experience of slavery. Defeated, displaced, and tortured, the natives and African people were involuntarily separated from their families and homes to be put in such conditions.

    Read More

  • Harriet Jacobs Incidents And A Slave Girl: An Analysis

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like.

    Read More

  • The Maltreatment Of Slave Women In Early America

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the course of human history, slavery has existed and perverted the morality and sensibility of people throughout the world. The horrific treatment of African American slaves in early America is one of the numerous examples of the corrupt nature of slavery. The maltreatment of enslaved black women reveals to the clear mind the horrendous truths of American slavery. Slave women, for merely the shade of their skin, were treated as nothing more than the stupidest and unfeeling of animals. Slave Masters took advantage of their female slaves in numerous ways, rarely handling them with extra consideration for the sake of their femininity. Slave masters manipulated and took advantage of their slave women in

    Read More

  • Slavery Argumentative Essay

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery has always been known as physical abuse where the whites would constantly beat the blacks. However, there is a psychological aspect of slavery as well. The whites create a fear within the slaves by constantly punishing them and making them seem like they’re unimportant so they don’t start a rebellion. The slaves are restricted from receiving any more information than what the whites tell them because with knowledge, the slaves could almost seem humane. The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” explores and explains the idea of how mental conditions are the reason behind the whites having control over the blacks and maintaining a powerful position in the social hierarchy. The preconceived idea that whites will always be higher is etched into the slave’s brains from the beginning to the end of their life.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this book, Douglass narrated the life of a slave in the United States into finer details. This paper will give a description of life a slave in the United States was living, as narrated through the experiences of Fredrick Douglass.

    Read More

  • The Characteristics Of African Slaves And Ex-Slavery: Slave Narratives

    2300 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper seeks mainly to evaluate and analyze the major issues for slavery and the quest for freedom for African-American slaves. It also seeks to expound on the characteristics of the slave narrative as brought forth by various authors. A refined conclusion will also focus on the success factors that led the slaves freeing

    Read More

More about Slavery: Harriet Smith V. George Johnson

Open Document