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Relationships between masters and slaves
History of the american education system
History of the american education system
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During the years of slavery, education was an extremely controversial issue among these individuals. The entire nation's economy depended heavily upon the free labor of slaves, which made so many oppose the idea of abolition. The main fear in the education of slaves was that they would revolt; and the southern economy would collapse, therefore, causing detrimental effects on the country's economy as a whole. Despite slave owners' attempts at limited or no education for their slaves, due to their fear of slave rebellion, these individuals overcame the cycle of dependence, but not without the teaching initiated from their ancestors. Many slaves were encouraged by members of the previous generation to explore various aspects of their African ancestry, culture, and education. On most …show more content…
plantations, slaves were not allowed to educate their children. However, many chose to violate the laws of their masters and concentrated on teaching their children how to read and write in hopes that such knowledge would contribute to their survival. Adults were forced to show them how to handle the inhumane acts and degradation carried out by the whites without losing their spirits. This, above all, was the most important thing that they were taught. Such education started at a young age when slave children were introduced to gangs to do work in the fields. Paul Boyer makes a convincing argument that another subject, which was a major issue in the lives of the slaves, was respect.
They were to respect their parents above anything else. They were punished when they did not listen. If one's master called him or her at the same time that a parent called, children were expected to come to the parent rather than the master. Of course, problems resulted; and the child would be punished by whomever he or she disobeyed. This caused children to resent both groups, but parents continued to go to extremes to teach their children respect. Through a compilation of journals, Edmund Drago created a solid argument regarding the Whites' fear of slave education. Slaves had to take classes in secret, behind the backs of their masters; however most slave owners were afraid to allow their "property to be educated beyond the tasks of farming and housekeeping. They believed that knowledge would lead the slaves to hostility and revolt. Few slaves rose from their original status to the ranks of the slave elite or even the free-black. Slaves gained status among themselves by the work they did for other slaves rather than that which they did for their
owners. Learning of their ancestry and adapting their culture to conform to their restricted life as a slave resulted in a revolutionized culture for African American slaves, which is clearly evident through Thomas Webber's work. Slave culture had at its heart a set of cultural themes, forms of artistic expression, a religion, a family pattern, and a community structure which set blacks apart from whites and enabled them to form and control a world of their own values and definitions. This essentially meant that although slaves were bound to their plantations, they still developed their own sense of individuality, their own way of life. Many whites wanted to believe that they were capable of controlling every aspect of their slaves' lives; however this was not the case, in the least. Through countless generations, African culture was passed down and survived its journey to the present day, despite all odds. Even while they were enslaved, African Americans aspired to literacy. The majority of slaves did recognize that the ability to read and write was crucial to both religious practice and to the assertion of individual and political rights. As Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explains, "The act of writing for the slave constituted the act of creating a public, historical self. Since literacy presented slaves with a means in which to assert their humanity, white slave holders in the South actively opposed efforts to educate them. On occasions, slave holders taught individual house slaves to read the Bible; however all but a few owners allowed their planters to undertake any formal education. In the years before the Civil War, white southerners virtually halted the formal education of slaves.
Many issues kept Reconstruction from helping the newly freed slaves. For instance, the vast majority of former slaves were uneducated. In many southern states, before and during the Civil War, the educating of slaves was illeg...
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” This quote is by Booker T. Washington. In the book “Up from Slavery” Mr. Washington was a poor African American man who wanted an education. He was able to peruse an education, through hard work and perseverance. Then he wanted to help others also receive an education, by building a school.
The institution of slavery, from the year 1830 to 1860, created a divide between the northern and southern regions of the United States. Southerners, who relied on slaves to maintain their plantations, supported the institution, as it was a major part of their economy. Meanwhile, northerners, many of whom depended on slave produced cotton for textile mills and goods for the shipping industry, were divided on the slave issue, as some saw it as a blessing while the abolitionists saw it as a horrific institution. Overall, attitudes toward the institution of slavery, due to a variety of causes, differed in the varying regions in the United States from 1830 to 1860.
During the pre-Civil War America, the enslaved African American’s were not recommended to be taught any form of education such as reading or writing. Many of the white people believed that if the slaves were to learn how to read and write that they would then start to think for themselves and create plans of a rebellion. There was sure to be a rebellion if they were to be taught any form of education. To make sure that the African American slaves did not try to become educated they had harsh punishments for anyone that tried to learn how to read and to write. Education during the pre-African-American Civil Rights Movement was a lot different from how it was during pre-Civil War America. The African American’s had schools that they could attend, but they were separated from the white people. There schools were not located in spots as pleasant as the schools that the white people attended. The African American’s did not have the same quantity and quality supplies as the white schools. Examples of how the African American’s did not receive the same type of tools to help with their education was shown in A Lesson Before Dying. The African American’s had books that had pages missing and that were falling apart, limited amount of chalk, pencils, paper, and other learning utensils while the schools that the white people attended had more than enough supplies and new books
This was done to ensure that the slaves were strong and fully capable of the tedious work that lie ahead. Those who failed examination were left behind in their territory. This process played a huge role in breaking up the family dynamic of many African families, as often times young children would be separated from their less desired parents. A young slave was not only easier to mold, but was more profitable to a slave master. A young male slave was deemed valuable because of his strength and longevity, and a young female was viewed valuable as she was needed to continue the cycle of
Ignorance played a big role throughout the book. It was believed that it was better for a slave to have ignorance than knowledge because with ignorance, the slaves have no reasons to leave. However, with knowledge, the slaves would be able to write their own passes. In addition, they would try to escape because they know they could do better. “It was dangerous to educate slaves, they warned. Education made blacks dissatisfied with slavery. It spoiled them for field work” (236). Leaving a black person ignorant of education and such will prevent slaves from developing self-worth and wanting to leave for a better life. For this reason, leaving the slave ignorant is what many slaveholders do.
The slave owners struggle to control the slave brought out an evil in them that cannot be brought out by any things. The slaves’ struggle for freedom and the suppression by their masters broke their spirit, which is a large part of human character. America would not have grown to be so great in such a short time without slavery, because of the economic value of it. But, it would not have been such a violent society then or such a violent society now if slavery had never existed.
Slave’s masters consistently tried to erase African culture from their slave’s memories. They insisted that slavery had rescued blacks form the barbarians from Africa and introduced them to the “superior” white civilization. Some slaves came to believe this propaganda, but the continued influence of African culture in the slave community added slave resistance to the modification of African culture. Some slaves, for example, answered to English name in the fields but use African names in their quarters. The slave’s lives were filled with surviving traits of African culture, and their artwork, music, and other differences reflected this influence.
This imposed ignorance aimed to take away his natural sense of individual identity, and much of his human essence. As stated by Douglass, “slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.” (p. 1). Later on, as slave children grew older, slave owners prevented them from learning how to read and write, as literacy would awake their minds and would put them on a nearer condition of that the slave holder and overall, the white people. Such “threat” was well known by the slaveholders who understood that literacy could potentially put a slave in contact with readings that would give him arguments to question the right of whites to keep slaves. By keeping slaves illiterate, Southern slaveholders maintained control over how the rest of America perceived slavery. If slaves could not write, their side of the slavery story could never be told. Ignorance was the wall used by slave owners to hide their atrocities against innocent human beings; women, men and kids used as carnage during their entire
Slaves were forbidden to read and slave owners were forbidden to teach slaves to read and write. The existence of such a restriction on educating slaves is proof that the slaveholders felt a need to suppress the capabilities of slaves. As a slave, Douglass was given the opportunity to learn and elevate his status only to have all that, including the invitation to join "high" society snatched away. Such a tease and broken promise of a better day proved to be more than Douglass could bear. He devoted each of his idle moments to mastering the language arts. In addition, as if mastering it were not enough, Douglass meticulously educated other slaves in the English language of reading and writing. Douglass' action was indicative of the significance found in literacy. If he had not put literacy at such high esteem, he would not have taken the time to continue his education and persuade others to pursue theirs. Douglass knew first hand that education was a effective tool of empowerment especially to slaves—those who had spent their lives without any power. This separation of man from education was a control issue and reclaiming control meant education one's self and his or her peers. Through educating his peers, Douglass demonstrated his knowledge of the underlying power in literacy.
The American colonies began enacting laws that defined and regulated slave relations, including a provision that black slaves, and the children of women slaves, would serve for life. Slave owners gave a great deal of attention to the education and training of the ideal slave. In general, there were five steps in molding the character of a slave: strict discipline, a sense of his own inferiority, belief in the master’s superiority, acceptance of the master’s standards and a deep sense of his own helples...
In the Autobiography, “Narrative Life of Fredrick Douglas: An American Slave,” Fredrick Douglas writes to show what the life of a slave is like, because from personal experience, he knows. Fredrick Douglas not only shows how his life has been as a slave but shows what it is like to be on the bottom and be mistreated. Douglas shows that freedom isn’t free, and he took the initiative to become a free man. Not many African-Americans had the opportunity to make themselves free and were forced to live a life of disparity and torture. Through his experience Douglas shows us the psychological effects of slavery. Through Douglas’s memory we are able to relive the moments that continued to haunt his life. Douglas’s book showed the true
Slaves were subject to harsh working conditions, malicious owners, and illegal matters including rape and murder. In many instances, slaves were born into slavery, raised their families in slavery, and died within the captivity of that same slavery. These individuals were not allowed to learn how to read, write, and therefore think for themselves. This is where the true irony begins to come into light. While we have been told our entire lives that education and knowledge is the greatest power available to everyone under the sun, there was a point in time where this concept was used to keep certain people under others. By not allowing the slaves to learn how to read, then they were inevitably not allowing the slaves to form free thoughts. One of my favorite quotes is that of Haruki Murakami, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, then you can only think what everyone else is thing.” This applied in magnitudes to those who didn’t get to read at all. Not only were these individuals subject to the inability to think outside the box, but for most of these their boxes were based upon the information the slaves owners allowed them to
The African slaves were often prisoners in their village and tribe leaders would trade.... ... middle of paper ... ... Young people don't see racism as a problem and they can look beyond it.
The word “slavery” brings back horrific memories of human beings. Bought and sold as property, and dehumanized with the risk and implementation of violence, at times nearly inhumane. The majority of people in the United States assumes and assures that slavery was eliminated during the nineteenth century with the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth; rather, slavery and the global slave trade continue to thrive till this day. In fact, it is likely that more individuals are becoming victims of human trafficking across borders against their will compared to the vast number of slaves that we know in earlier times. Slavery is no longer about legal ownership asserted, but instead legal ownership avoided, the thought provoking idea that with old slavery, slaves were maintained, compared to modern day slavery in which slaves are nearly disposable, under the same institutionalized systems in which violence and economic control over the disadvantaged is the common way of life. Modern day slavery is insidious to the public but still detrimental if not more than old American slavery.