Ciera Johnson Reaction Paper AFA 3104 “Go Sound the Trumpet” Reading the Article Go Sound the Trumpet by Larry Rivers has put into perspective that basically ‘you reap what you sew’. Slave masters had tried to control the slaves every being but could not control their soul. Religion is an outlet to freedom for some. Slaves in this time were using their religious freedom to plan a way out, plan for an escape to a better life. Slave masters were under the impression that slaves were having church so when caught, of course slaves had to ‘pay the price’.
The slaveholding system had become self-sufficient and this dictated the end of many tribal practices among black slaves. Blake, by Martin R. Delany, takes place in the antebellum period in America. One may realize that most of the slaves depicted in the novel are now converted to Christianity, their masters’ religion. The problem here is that this conversion is nothing less than a subversive way to control the group of slaves in the Franks plantation. Master Frank uses religion to pour fear and obedience in his slaves’ minds.
Slavery was common practice at the time of the writer’s captivity; however, Equiano was a spirited voice against such savagery. Later in life, he was given an official post to resettle poor blacks in Sierra Leone, Africa; but, he made accusations of misdeeds against some officials and thereby lost his post in trying to do his work honestly. Also, Equiano found fault in the inequality under Christian religion. Further, he recalled the golden rule of Christian conduct, “do unto all men as you would men should do unto you” (Equiano 769) which seemed sorely lacking in the slave trade. These matters of contention went against his enduring African values and prevented him from being fully assimilated by Western society.
Amos also learned how to read the Bible. Amos Fortune was blessed to have the Copelands as his slave owner. When Amos received his freedom at the age of sixty, he knew not only how to survive in the colonies, but he had also been taught the importance of living a godly life. Amos Fortune appreciated and found encouragement in the scriptures. One of the Copeland children, whose name was Roxanna, read the Bible to Amos when he was a teenager.
When the slave owner found about this he strongly disapproved, because he thought that if the slaves learn to then the slaves would want to escape. Still, Douglass taught himself how to read in secret and eventually taught other slave how to read the Bible. Here, he understood where and why inequality within the US was thriving. Free labor brought profits for southern plantation owners and the ideology that “non-whites” were considered not to be equal. “Frederick Douglass was the most important African American leader and intellectual of the nineteenth century.
“Apostles of Disunion” In Apostles of Disunion, Charles Dew attempted to explain what led to the South’s decision to secede and ultimately cause a civil war. The one reoccurring theme he brings up as the major reason for the South’s secession was their widespread pro slavery attitude held at the time. Dew believed that if slavery had not existed, then the civil war would have never occurred. Throughout his writings he showed this Southern pro slavery attitude and used several examples to support this idea. Two of his best used examples were the the popular propaganda speeches made by slave owners in attempt to gain allegiance against the North and the South’s almost hatred of the Republican Party as a whole.
Newspapers and literature in general had a very influential impact on society's view of slavery. The “Liberator,” written by Garrison, influenced the opposition to slavery by providing everyone with a piece that touched them and presented them with ideas about slavery. Garrison himself was a very strict and harsh man, criticizing the Constitution for even condoning slavery when the Declaration of Independence states otherwise. He appealed to society (via the American Anti-Slavery Society) with such passion to refute slavery that it sparked the interest of many. His refusal to give up and even die for the sake of this “holy cause” is very moving and brought people to oppose slavery.
A lot of these leaders were born into slavery and escaped, passing on powerful messages to the people to come together and fight for their rights. I found Fredrick Douglas to be a good example of one who was born into slavery. He had a slave mom and a white dad that resulted in him being sent to another plantation to be a servant because of his color. In 1838, Douglas escaped and became part of an Anti-Slavery Society in 1841. He gave a powerful speech on the fourth of July addressing his fellow African Americans called ‘What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July.’ He portrays how all of America celebrates Independence Day with their political freedom.
During the years that lead to the United States Civil War, the embroilment over slavery became not only a social controversy, but also a legal and political one. Supporters, and non-supporters of slavery each looked to the American constitution as well as the predominant culture of the time for direction in handling this matter. One person whom established their landmark works on this was Frederick Douglas, an emancipated slave, who fought relentlessly for the abolishment of slavery. In 1852, Frederick Douglas was allowed to speak his thoughts at the July 4th celebration. In his speech, he made it known that he despised the treatment of the Black slaves, as well as the irony and hypocrisy that followed.
It is here that I think Douglass makes another significant step, that is when he creates protections for himself and his clan, or as I like to think of it, their own declaration of independence from the slave community. But, like all things thus far in Douglass’s life, things fell through, and he suffered the mean hand of a relentless slave system. Although Douglas had burned his fake protection papers in order to save himself and his allies, the declaration was still clear in his mind. Like a true revolutionary, he stuck to it and eventually experienced life unrestrained by the horrid slave community in which he came from. It truly is amazing how much Douglass went through in order to experience life outside of his own community.