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Slavery in America in the 1600s to 1800s
Slavery in America in the 1600s to 1800s
Slavery in America in the 1600s to 1800s
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One must wonder, if a man dies at a young age from congestion of the stomach, is it because he didn’t listen to his gut instinct to do what is right and moral? Robert H. Gudmestad presented some evidence that it might be possible in his article, The Troubled Legacy of Isaac Franklin: The Enterprise of Slave Trading. From the beginning of his career in slave trade to near the end of his life, Isaac Franklin dealt in business that was less than moral and humane. Isaac Franklin made his fortune selling and transporting slaves, then tried covering up his profession with genius public relations, and subsequently at the end of his life tried to absolve his past by planning a future. Franklin’s career selling bondservants began in 1810 but the War of 1812 took him away from the business, but he quickly returned after the war. After the war many settlers moved into the area bringing their own slaves, yet needed more to keep up with the amount of labor needed to build the Old Southwest. From 1831-1832 …show more content…
His first move was to create an experience for visitors of the slave jail to see the situation in a different light. He dressed in his finest clothes, and had engaging and graceful manners while he spoke of the benefits of slave labor and trade. During these visits and discussions wine was available to the visitors in a well-furnished room. One of his next moves was hiring “agents” to do the dirty work so he would physically be distanced from any actions dealing with the sale of slaves. One of the final moves was when the partners sold the business to Rice Ballard, but only after both of them made fortunes. At this time, Franklin was not in good health, his eye was out, his shoulder was broken, the rigors of travel finally caught up to him. At this point, Franklin realized his legacy was less than
Hammond’s voice was very loud when it came to the issue of slavery. He was not ashamed to let everyone know how much he supported it. In 1831, Hammond became the owner of a cotton plantation called Silver Bluff. There were 147 slaves at Silver Bluff when Hammond arrived to take possession of it. They were eager to meet their new master. “Hammond had acquired seventy-four females and seventy-three males, a population with a median age of twenty-five. He would certainly have noted that forty-six, nearly a third of these slaves, were not yet fifteen, too young to be much use in the fields but a good foundation for a vigorous future labor force. Undoubtedly, too, he observed that sixty-four of the slaves were between fifteen and forty-five, the prime work years. These were the individuals upon whom Hammond would rely to plant, cultivate, and harvest the cotton and corn that would generate most of his yearly income” (Faust, 71). The rest were older slaves that couldn’t really do a lot of hard labor in the field, but they could do chores that didn’t require such demanding work ethics like watching over the children whose parents are out working in the fields.
Within the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” Douglass discusses the deplorable conditions in which he and his fellow slaves suffered from. While on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, slaves were given a “monthly allowance of eight pounds of pork and one bushel of corn” (Douglass 224). Their annual clothing rations weren’t any better; considering the type of field work they did, what little clothing they were given quickly deteriorated. The lack of food and clothing matched the terrible living conditions. After working on the field all day, with very little rest the night before, they must sleep on the hard uncomfortably cramped floor with only a single blanket as protection from the cold. Coupled with the overseer’s irresponsible and abusive use of power, it is astonishing how three to four hundred slaves did not rebel. Slave-owners recognized that in able to restrict and control slaves more than physical violence was needed. Therefore in able to mold slaves into the submissive and subservient property they desired, slave-owners manipulated them by twisting religion, instilling fear, breaking familial ties, making them dependent, providing them with an incorrect view of freedom, as well as refusing them education.
The edifying phenomenon that comes across the lives of Douglass and Wright is seemingly a climax imposing new beginnings and a tentative freedom. Consequently, allowing both men to gravely understand the terms and conditions they must face in order to comply with that preceding society. “My reading had created a cast sense of distance between me and the world in which I lived and tried to make a living, and that sense of distance was increasing each day.” (Wright 153) “The moral which
...nt of maturity. In addition, both authors think that matured readers in general are harder to persuade compared to younger readers (those at the of 16 to 18). This is why both Franklin and Douglass intentionally set their "rebellion stage" at the age of 17. This is to encourage the "less stable" teenage readers to dare do something different and to not compromise with normality. This less-stableness would enable these teenage readers to be more receptive to radical ideas. With this thought in mind and armed with Americans vulnerability in believing the rags-to-riches myth, Franklin and Douglass are able generated effective and persuasive narrations.With such effective writing prose, the authors created well-fabricate compositions which modeled upon the "rags-to-riches" chronology.These are the myths, Americans live by them and the country survives with them. Thus, it is the American Dream.
Benjamin Franklin has been without a doubt one of the most relevant individuals in US history. His autobiography gives us a brief but detailed summary of what his life was like and how society worked in the eighteen century. This autobiography gives us many details of how the colonies where and offers and an overall image of the development of British North America which later turned into the United States. Due to the fact that this book was originally written for Franklin's son, the book concentrates in personal information and has very little information about other topics. However, there are some topics that can be extracted from his writings; one of them is gender. Even though, Franklin never talks openly about gender, we can observe how in his writing these roles are clearly assigned. In this paper, we will analyze how Benjamin's Franklin autobiography showcases the importance of gender in the early eighteenth century. Gender can be analyzed in Franklins book by looking at different topics. This given to men and women by society can be seen in the workspace, in the education of each individual, and in the family and family structure.
Franklin’s accomplishments arose from the influence of family, friends, education, and personal experience with being African American. He had a difficult task as an historian as he was writing about the neglected history of his minority group while being an advocate for the rights of this group. This could be perceived as a conflict of interest, but he thought of it as being beneficial. His method of writing was not to promote African Americans, but to interpret their involvement in the framework of American history. This was not something that had been done extensively and thoroughly before. Franklin set the stage and helped to create a widely accepted field of history.
In conclusion, we can assert that the paths to aristocracy of the two leaders as we have seen were an uphill task. These paths are in one way or another similar with Franklin pioneering and Douglas following after his steps. It is also evident that Douglas through his actions fighting against slavery came to be regarded as a representative man. This owes to the fact that he not only represented slaves in America but in the entire world. The lives of Fredrick Douglas and Benjamin Franklin are indeed worth examining.
To understand the desperation of wanting to obtain freedom at any cost, it is necessary to take a look into what the conditions and lives were like of slaves. It is no secret that African-American slaves received cruel and inhumane treatment. Although she wrote of the horrific afflictions experienced by slaves, Linda Brent said, “No pen can give adequate description of the all-pervading corruption produced by slavery." The life of a slave was never a satisfactory one, but it all depended on the plantation that one lived on and the mast...
Imagine that it is the year 1841 in Saratoga, New York and blossoms of the dogwood tree are swirling around your face as the wind gently tousles your hair. All seems well in the world, and, to Solomon Northup, great opportunities are coming his way. Two men, by the names of Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton, had offered a dream job to Solomon. They had asked him to join them in a circus, playing the fiddle, an instrument Solomon had mastered. However, these men were not as honest as they seemed. Brown and Hamilton later drugged and kidnapped Solomon at a hotel one night during the tour. These men successfully forced Solomon into twelve years of slavery.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
In The Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin recounts the many paramount experiences throughout his life that shaped him into great American figure he was known to be. On the opening page, Franklin reveals the book’s epistolary format by writing, “Dear Son,” going on to admit that he’s made some mistakes in the past and to recollect that past is a way to relive it. By divulging his desire to “change some sinister Accidents & Events” (Franklin 3) the author indicates how important it is for his son to observe as he amends his mistakes. Pride, virtue and vanity play a pivotal role in Benjamin Franklin’s life and the way he portrays himself to others. Instances occur where the author is shown gloating about his great accomplishments and he puts emphasis on his need to live a virtuous and morally perfect life. Throughout his story, Benjamin Franklin tells his son of his many virtuous acts and momentous achievements, motivating the question as to whether he seeks his own approval more so than the approval of his peers.
Different literature writers have many different views about mankind. Many American writers discuss these views. More out spoken American writers spend a great amount of time talking about this topic. In this paper we will look at Benjamin Franklin’s and Jonathan Edwards’ views of mankind by looking at personal background, religious views, and evidence in their writings.
Although Fredrick Douglass’ account of his interment as a slave outlines in many ways the typical life of an American slave, his narrative utilizes a subjectivity and in-depth perception of his treatment which creates a looking glass of 19th century American slave experience. The narrative itself works in part to both display Douglass’ personal and unique experiences as a slave while at the same time acting as a “cookie-cutter” for the American slave experience itself, that meaning that so many slaves existed in similar conditions to that of Douglass’ that the work doubles as a synopsis for slave lifestyle as a whole. This paper will analyze and expand on the experiences had by Douglass and also attempt to better explain the incidents he experienced throughout his life. Such examples will include Douglass’ account of life on the plantation, his culture shock from being transplanted to Baltimore from the plantation lifestyle and finally the overview of his life as a freedman in the state of New York. Using these particular points from the narrative, an overview of the slave experience with regards to psychological and psychosocial influence will also be reviewed and expanded upon to give the reader a more clear and concise understanding of Douglass’ work.
Jefferson, a black man condemned to die by the electric chair in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, is perhaps the strongest character in African-American literature. Jefferson is a courageous young black man that a jury of all white men convicts of a murder he has not committed ; yet he still does not let this defeat destroy his personal character. Ernest Gaines portrays Jefferson this way to illustrate the fundamental belief that mankind’s defeats do not necessarily lead to his destruction. The author uses such actions as Jefferson still enjoying outside comforts, showing compassion towards others, and trying to better himself before dying. These behaviors clearly show that although society may cast Jefferson out as a black murderer, he can still triumph somewhat knowing that he retains the qualities of a good human being.
The Franklin praises the Squire for his eloquence, considering his youth. He tells the Squire that he has no peer among the company and that he wishes that his own son were as commendable as the Squire. The Host suggests that the Franklin tell the next tale. The Franklin begins by apologizing in advance for his rough speech and lack of education.