I believe Frederick Douglass is a Transcendentalist because in his narrative he gives examples of poor treatment from most of his enslavers, showing that the meanness that was exhibited towards slaves was the norm, and slave-owners who were kind were the exception. He uses this narrative to show even more evil underside of slavery. He writes to educate white audiences about what really goes on at slave plantations, including more cruel and depraved behaviors. For example, he devotes several paragraphs in Chapter I to a discussion about white slave owners impregnating their slaves. Douglass often returns to the same theme, depicting slavery as dehumanizing to both slaveholders and slaves.
One of things that were mentioned is “the heartless and ghastly form of slavery rises between mother and child.” Pg 45 Slaves were separated since the moment they were born, they did not get be around their parents and bond as other kids do. “The bondwoman lives as a slave, and is left to die as a beast.” “By the laws of slavery, children, in all cases are reduced to the condition of their mothers.” Pg 46 “This arrangement admits of the greatest license of brutal slaveholders , and their profligate sons, brothers, relations and friends, and gives pleasure of sin, the additional attraction of profit” pg46 It seems like they were dead to all sense of humanity the slaves were fighting for survival that was impossible. They were suffering from immoral economic advantages due to the slave owners and that caused the entire community to suffer by accepting what others believed was right. Everyone was victimized due to their human life and dignity it damaged society spiritually and morally. It made some slave holders and their overseers brutal, it made other white people feel guilty and ashamed.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Throughout the book professor Nash emphasizes on the struggles an early America had to deal with developing a country based on independence and freedom, the concept which is the foundation of the “Declaration of Independence”, and enslave the men, women, and children of Africa. Through the American Revolution it was discovered that there was inconsistency with slave system and the principle reasons for the problems between England and America. We have to ask, why was slavery protected as long as it was? Within the book there were many reasons that explained why the nation failed to end slavery but the main reason being the fear that Georgia and South Carolina’s would refuse to join the union if they were forced to abolish it.
Her hatred toward slavery led her to writing the book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This book depicted slavery’s cruelty, inhumanity and the impact that it has on the families lives. The characters in this book portrayed the life of real slaves and the struggles they went through. Poor old Uncle Tom was beat until he died. This was something that happen to many slaves when they were being punished and it may have been just because they were working to slow.
And then who are Africans? Who can measure the amount of Anglo-Saxon blood coursing in the veins of American slaves” (Jacobs 47)? It was often hard to distinguish between the two races because of the amount of interracial interactions between slaves and their masters. Linda struggles with encompassing an emotional freedom from racial inequality and injustice. Her determination and willingness to abolish slavery essentially drove her to publicize her private story in hopes of creating awareness regarding the issue of
Douglass unintentionally heard of people around him talking between them that whites maintain power over black slaves by keeping them uneducated. He instantly shocked. Douglass has known intuitively that slavery is evil, but has been mystified by the logic of how slavery works. Douglass decided to educate himself and to escape from slavery. However, he is later taken from the Aulds and placed with Edward Covey, a slave “breaker,” for a year.
In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were slaveholders, and it was argued that Africans were descendents of Hamm, whose curse was to live in servitude to his brothers. Pro-slavery ministers also drew from Paul’s epistles, which compel wives, children, and slaves to be submissive to their masters, and for citizens to “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Keith 118). As a historical defense, pro-slavery writers compared the antebellum South to ancient Greece and Rome, the great slaveholding societies of the past (Nation 6/16/08). In a scriptural defense of slavery in 1856, the Reverend Thornton Stringfellow states, “We have also shown from authentic history that the institution of slavery existed in every family, and in every province of the Roman Empire (Major Problems 330). In addition, Keith notes Calhoun’s claim that all civilized societies apportion wealth inequitably (117).
Ethnic Notions The film Ethnic Notions showed the harsh realities of racism in America from as far back as slavery to the civil rights era as it pertained to oppression. Oppression in its most basic form is “to exercise harsh dominion over, to be weighed down” per the dictionary. However, this is at the physical level, but as Sandra Lee Bartky expresses there is a psychological oppression which has the same weighing down on the mind. There is also the oppression that comes from the stereotyping as well as sexual objectification. These ideas were clearly demonstrated in the film.
Danielle Farmery Race and Poverty in America Section 1 February 24, 2015 Summary and Response Paper #5 In the reading “the Empire Strikes Back: Resistance to Racial Rule” by Winant, the main them is how enslaved people resisted the rule of their masters. Whites had resorted to racialized structures in order to conquer and enslave, and the Natives and Blacks also, learned to operate within the confines of the color-line in order to develop strategies of resistance. These resistance practices were largely continuous and took many different forms. All of the forms of resistance had one shared purpose- to inform and guide the pursuit of freedom for the enslaved. Many slaves practiced resistance just as an effort to recapture time from the slave-owner’s control, they wanted their “non-working” time to increase.
There are multiple times in Douglass’ narrative when Douglass comes across a slaveholder or overseer who seems like a compassionate person, but shortly thereafter is seen taking some kind of enjoyment in beating a slave. Even Colonel Lloyd’s sons and son-in-laws, “enjoyed the luxury of whipping the servants when they pleased” (Douglass 22). Douglass even explains how some slaveholders would rape their slaves and following the rape the father/slaveholder of the new born slaves would then beat his own children, which questions the very strong and moral bond between families. Many times after something like this happens the wife will begin to become angry and spiteful toward the new slaves as she knows what they are evidence of. Slavery even begins to affect the slaveholders’ own religion and shows how ignorant they really are.