Wpa Slave Narrative By Mary Gladdy: Resistance To Slavery

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Many tried to break them, but slaves stayed strong and found ways to escape their injustices. The first Africans to reach America landed in Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America. Throughout a nearly 250-year history of subjugation, many Africans and African Americans found ways to resist slavery, ranging from hinderance to violent outbreaks. Resistance to slavery came in many forms. On Southern plantations, some slaves executed small passive acts of resistance, while others ran away. Slaves also showed resistance in the form of cultural and religious practices in order to find comfort in the face of oppression. Violent rebellions were less common and mostly unsuccessful, but open defiance brought fear upon Southern whites. …show more content…

Former slave Mary Gladdy was born on a plantation in Georgia. Her story provides insight on the religious practices of slaves and the role of prayer and song in their everyday lives. “ … it was customary among slaves to gather together secretly in their cabins two or three times each week and hold prayer and ‘experience’ meetings” ("Wpa Slave Narrative: Mary Gladdy, Excerpt). Slaves were forced to assimilate into American culture quickly, however they held onto some their African roots. Slaves were not allowed to practice their religions or congregate especially at night. Slaves displayed small acts of resistance through secret religious meetings. Enslaved Africans also fought against slavery by keeping their African cultures and traditions alive in words, names, music and beliefs. Slave owners often tried to control this. African religions were very different from Christianity and the slave owners were suspicious of them. So, even playing the drums, or continuing to practice their religious beliefs were methods by which the slaves could resist and challenge slavery. Slaves would also just not work which also had the effect of slowing work. “Sometime they lazy around and if I see the overseer comin' from the big house I had a song ‘sing to warn them, so they git to work and not be whupped” (Wpa Slave Narrative: Richard Carruthers, Excerpt). Slaves would not work while the overseer was not there, which would negatively affect the slave owner’s profit. By slowing down work and production, slaves defied the power and authority of the overseer and master. Nonviolent passive approaches included work slowdowns and work stoppage where slaves affected the economic stability of their masters by producing less. “In work slowdowns, the product output per slave was consciously reduced. This occurred through such strategies as feigned ignorance (e.g., "I don't understand how

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