Samuel Hall Slavery Summary

Thesis: Samuel Hall’s life as a slave shows the diversity among slave owners, conditions throughout the south, and a man’s willingness to adapt to changing circumstances.

Torment a person endures throughout their life bears significant pain on that person’s wellbeing. Slavery in the South, before the Civil War, placed burdens on one group of people segregated by race, that always haunts the United States. The will of man is significant in his relationship with the world. Experiences in life make a person’s character either love, or hate the environment created for them. Samuel Hall’s life as a slave shows the diversity among slave owners, conditions throughout the south, and a man’s willingness to adapt to changing circumstances.

Samuel Hall shares his story as a slave with the intent of rationalization of human nature. Born in 1912, to African native parents, Hall did not experience the harsh life of plantation slavery from birth. Mr. Hall’s parents were the property of the Hall family, from where his last name is credited. The Hall men were strict church members who did not believe in the institution of slavery. Slaves were still property; divided among families upon the owner’s death.
At the age of twelve, Samuel became the property of Hugh Hall. Master Hall was not the typical slave driving master of southern dialog. He believed in the morality of his slaves, and did not refer to Samuel or his family as slaves. Samuel, along with his brothers, were able to get an education and live a somewhat isolated life away from traditional slavery. Hugh Hall treated his slaves as equals for the most part. He gave them opportunities that most slaves did not get. They were treated as free people on his property. Other slave owners looked at Hall’s slaves as spoiled and kept a watchful eye on them.
Hugh Hall died the year Samuel Hall turned thirty-seven years old. Master Hall’s wife did not share the same feelings towards their property as Hugh Hall. Frightened by the prospect of Samuel’s education, closeness to Master Hall, and his upbringing far from traditional slavery, Mrs. Hall decided to sell Samuel Hall. Samuel was sold to a slave owner on the Mississippi-Tennessee state line.
The life of a “free slave” for Samuel Hall was over. Although he was married at the time, separation did not set in until he was further down South. Samuel Hall’s education and experience drove his net worth to 1125.00 dollars. Typically, high for a slave of his caliber and age. His whole family was sold at the same auction. A man named William Wallace purchased Hall to oversee his farm.
Mr. Hall showed his defiance with the start of his new ownership. He explained to Mr. Wallace that he will do his job, but if he tried to whip him, he would murder Mr. Wallace. William Wallace was known as a slave breaker, meaning he knew how to break unruly slaves. He tried on multiple occasions to break Samuel, however, the slave breaking tactics never worked on Hall. Hall was never reprimanded by Wallace for standing his own ground.
Life in the deep south was more challenging for Samuel. He witnessed the tortures that slaves endured throughout their enslavement. He witnessed a man beat to death by a whip. A slave burned to death, and even a woman beat to death with a cane. He knew the horrors were way worse than he anticipated.
Temptation to run away thrived in the South on Wallace’s farm. Samuel considered trying to run, however, he stayed loyal to his owners until the Civil War. He left the confides of Master Wallace when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. Even though, Wallace pleaded with Hall to stay, Hall left with the Union Army, joining the cause of the North.
The age of forty-seven truly gave birth to a free Samuel Hall. He completed his service in the Union Army and moved his family to Washington, Iowa. He led the life of a farmer, earning his place in his new hometown. He planted roots in his new location and made peace with the world around him. He earned the respect of prominent figures in his town, who did not want him to succeed.
Samuel Hall learned his faith at an early age.

He always kept his faith in God though all his sacrifices. He believed God’s plan was in slavery. Slavery, although evil is its course, gave his people salvation from the African way of life. He believed, while a slave, God would work his love on slave owners and capture the hearts of men. They would see their evils ways, and become human again.

A significant part of Samuel’s story is that he holds no ill will towards anyone. His life is chronicled in a way that shows the kindness and horrors of mankind. Samuel could not believe how man could enslave his fellow man or rip a child away from their mother the way he witnessed these events. Several events are captured with Hall’s solitude. He brings honor to the people hurt by these atrocities.

His education was a pinnacle of his endurance. He understood the hate, the oppression, and the risks involved during his enslavement. He believed in education for his people and for those who did not understand his race. Nothing will change without understanding. Knowledge to understand each man’s place in the world. Above all, God gave everyone the power of education. Mr. Hall’s devotion to his creator is prevalent throughout his

life.
47 Years A Slave gives insight to a man that endured many sacrifices.

A man whose life changed with one day. Born a slave, who didn’t live the life of a slave until his mid-thirties. Samuel Hall is fortunate to have an education to be able to write his own biography with stunning clarity. Orville Elder creates an aurora of a man with an agenda with his introduction. A man who wants the world to know his story.

A story of a man who was born into slavery, but still retained his humanity throughout his life. The horrors of Antebellum slavery did not permeate the life of Samuel Hall. A man who knew his own birth parents, but raised by a slave master with a heart. Learning the trials of actual slavery later in life, Samuel Hall became his own man. Slave masters could never break Samuel Wallace’s will. He was his own man. He would do what he was bound to do, not because of slavery, but because he believed it was his honor to do so.

Elder’s introduction to Hall’s biography sets a tone of a humble man. A man who cares about the meaning of life. He is high spirited, taking each day as it was a gift from God. There is no virtue in holding grudges. Samuel Hall is a man of honor and dignity. His life story is very provocative. The details he shares are knowledge driven. He has no hidden agenda to place blame on anyone. Although his family was separated, he doesn’t live the life of a disgruntled

man.
Mr. Samuel Hall was born into a life he virtually knew nothing about until he was thirty-seven years old. Although he was a slave, he only endured roughly ten years of slavery. The fact of these revelations doesn’t change the fact that he was not a free man until his late forties. He lived a life no man should have to endure. The peace he shows in his later years shows the spirit of the American person. The will to survive, and also the reason to take advantage of every day.