The African Americans, united in their quest for creating ‘a perfect union’ which at its very earliest ended when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. Barker (2013), in his book, recollects the autobiographical notes and personal anecdote of various events from the black and white slaves who played an integral part in the American war against slavery. A socio political approach is used by Barker to engage his readers in how the African Americans continued their battle in middle 1800s. There are eight cases of the fleeing bondsmen included in the books who were pursued by their owners and in some cases, by the federal allies who claimed ownership of these slaved under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. In the chapters that follow, along with the well reclaimed fugitive slaves, Barker also introduced their abolitionist allies including Theodore Parker, Lewis Hayden, Frederick Douglas, Wendell Phillips and Samuel Joseph May who are proclaimed as the Revolutionary war heroes.
He does this by providing the stories of four individuals who lived in different places in the South under very different circumstances the year the Civil War ended. These stories are recreated by using the personal memoirs and diaries written by the people themselves, which creates a very authentic retelling of the lives of these people in 1865. For men and women living in this time period, America was changing all around them politically, not just because of the end of slavery but also because of the after effects of a civil war. The theme of the book is like that
As a young man, Ball was sold and separated from his wife and children to a slave trader. After this, he describes his journey through personal accounts in an autobiography called, Narrative of the Life and Adventure of Charles Ball. He explains several situations that occurred as he was sold from one place to another. At one point he managed to escape but was later on recaptured and placed into slavery again. His story is atypical because unlike others he managed to keep his composure.
Equiano appeals to the reader’s emotions when stating the “necessary tubs, into which the children fell and were almost suffocated.” There are “several brothers who were sold who in the sale were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasion to see and hear their cries at parting.” He discusses his bittersweet happiness after his kidnapping when he is saddened to be taken from his family, yet happy to have new experiences and learn about Christianity. It is logical to conclude that these experiences were terrible and horrifying for Africans who were part of the slave
Collison follows Minkins throughout the continent as he is a slave in Norfolk, VA, a fugitive in Boston, and a free black man in Montreal. Collison does an acceptable job of portraying the lives of slaves along with the difficulties and discriminations they would have to overcome throughout their lives. Collison’s novel starts out describing the well known aspects of a slave. This includes how they were restricted in movements, decisions, and forced to do labor. He provides a considerable amount of information about Minkins, seeing that there are few records about him.
Authors Purpose The author purpose is to educate and inform us on slavery and how it was in the 1800s-1900s. He tells us about the struggle for education in that time in history. Its also shows how it transforms his life and others through is struggle. Themes The pride of hard work is one of the themes I seen in this auto biography. If you look at his life you believe in this theme.
Hopper was sympathetic to blacks because he remembers a specific instant that changed him forever. His family had a farm helper named Mingo, who cried to Hopper explaining his story, in tears, about how he was kidnapped from slave traders. This was the reason why Hopper wanted to help blacks so much. Once in Philadelphia Hopper learned two lessons,
American History H L. Watson Book Report Due: 10/29/10 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Federick Douglass Introduction The life of Frederick Douglass was very hard. He was born a slave in February of 1818. Being separated form his mother at just a very young age, he was raised by his grandmother on a plantation. He had several slave owners but the one whose plantation he spoke of the most was Colonel Lloyd. Douglass' focus in this book was to keep record of what i believe to inform the world of the American slave.
He is given to Lucretia Auld where he is then again sent back to Baltimore. Upon the death of Lucretia, Frederick is taken by Thomas Auld and is sent back. It is at this point in his life when Frederick begins entertaining the idea of escape. Once again, back to his original setting, Frederick is faced with the extreme hardships of slavery. Here, under Thomas Auld, he is fed little and experiences a different type of slaveholder.
Despite the harsh reality of slavery in America, African American slaves found ways to cope with their reality on plantation. African American Slaves were exploited when it came to work on plantation. For the household slaves, they had to cook, clean, serve, be a wet-nurse and also be available for the masters at all time, even if it was in the middle of the night. As for the slaves who work in the crops, they were obligated to work before sunrise until sunset, reaching up to eighteen hours work. During those hours they had a break at noon for two hours, one for lunch and the other one for resting.