Slave Narratives Essay
Mateo Patino
Ms. Danner
English III CP - Eighth Period
19 February 2013 SELF DETERMINATION Thinking back on the time when people were treated as property seems like such a distant time and it’s crazy to think that it wasn’t as far back as you may think or it may appear. The states that were mostly famous for slavery were the southern states since they’re decision to keep slavery alive was essentially what would tear the country apart and start a civil war between the North and the South. I can’t imagine being told to wake up at sunrise work all day until dark then get back up the next day with no pay, it should seem crazy to anyone living in our day in age. But back then the African American women, men, and children had no choice but to listen to their masters since they paid good money to have them. I also can’t imagine knowing that that type of lifestyle wouldn’t get any better because of how strongly the South felt about not abolishing slavery. For that reason and because of the fact that there was such strict laws about runaway slaves, I wouldn’t know what I would do with myself. It takes a strong person to forget about all the bad and think about the future and how they’re going to change the situation that they are in and that type of personality is expressed in the select few of many slaves who told their story. There was Fredrick Douglass Harriet Jacobs, Sarah Gudger, William Moore, James Cope, Martin Jackson, Rosa Starke, and Katie Darling. Unfortunately there isn’t enough time or paper for me to talk about all of the slaves and their stories so those are the ones that I’m going to be focusing on. Fredrick Douglass was born sometime in February of 1818 and died on February 20th of 1895. Following his escape in 1838 he became a very important figure with the abolitionist movement since he of course had very recently been a slave. It’s hard to believe for people now who read his story that he was once a slave as it was for the people in his time
Ms. Danner
English III CP - Eighth Period
19 February 2013 SELF DETERMINATION Thinking back on the time when people were treated as property seems like such a distant time and it’s crazy to think that it wasn’t as far back as you may think or it may appear. The states that were mostly famous for slavery were the southern states since they’re decision to keep slavery alive was essentially what would tear the country apart and start a civil war between the North and the South. I can’t imagine being told to wake up at sunrise work all day until dark then get back up the next day with no pay, it should seem crazy to anyone living in our day in age. But back then the African American women, men, and children had no choice but to listen to their masters since they paid good money to have them. I also can’t imagine knowing that that type of lifestyle wouldn’t get any better because of how strongly the South felt about not abolishing slavery. For that reason and because of the fact that there was such strict laws about runaway slaves, I wouldn’t know what I would do with myself. It takes a strong person to forget about all the bad and think about the future and how they’re going to change the situation that they are in and that type of personality is expressed in the select few of many slaves who told their story. There was Fredrick Douglass Harriet Jacobs, Sarah Gudger, William Moore, James Cope, Martin Jackson, Rosa Starke, and Katie Darling. Unfortunately there isn’t enough time or paper for me to talk about all of the slaves and their stories so those are the ones that I’m going to be focusing on. Fredrick Douglass was born sometime in February of 1818 and died on February 20th of 1895. Following his escape in 1838 he became a very important figure with the abolitionist movement since he of course had very recently been a slave. It’s hard to believe for people now who read his story that he was once a slave as it was for the people in his time