Interpretations of Slavery Essay - 3734 Words

Interpretations of Slavery INTRODUCTION Slavery is known to have existed as early as the 18th century B.C. during the Shang Dynasty of China. Slavery was widely practiced in many other countries, including, Korea, India, Greece, Mexico and Africa. (Britannica 288-89). When most people consider slavery, however, they think of Western slavery in North America because it is well documented and it was such a horrible institution. Even though there is no one definition of slavery, the people who study it (historians, anthropologists and sociologists) agree that certain characteristics are present in all forms of slavery. Slaves were property and objects, not subjects of the law. Slaves had few rights, always fewer than their owners. Slave†¦show more content†¦Terry was one, among a number of slaves, who was encouraged by their masters to compose and publish literature, as long as it was written in the accepted format and on accepted topics. These early slave-poets did not write on the abolition of slavery, or show any anger toward their white masters. After the Revolutionary War, people became more vocal about wanting slavery to end. In the 1830s and 1840s, there were large numbers of slave narratives written and printed. These narratives described how bad slavery was as well as the authors personal experiences and tragedies. Three very influential slave narratives were written by Gustavas Vassa, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs. Vassa wrote in an earlier period so his writing was not openly hostile toward slavery. Instead, he carefully called for an end to slavery by comparing African slavery to Western slavery. Frederick Douglass wrote his narrative in 1845 and attempted to make clear that the slavery issue was a test of American Democracy. He wanted people to question the fact that not everyone had equal opportunity and freedom. Finally, Harriet Jacobs, wrote from a feminist perspective. She brought up the struggles and problems that were unique for black women in their fight for freedom. These three writers are still important and influential because they all had personal experiences with slavery and worked hard to get their message across for an end to slavery.Show MoreRelatedSlavery And Freedom : An Interpretation Of The Old South989 Words   |  4 PagesIn James Oakes book, Slavery and Freedom: An Interpretation of the Old South, talks about the relationships between slaves and master liberal capitalism in southern United States during the nineteenth century. Slaves was a name given to blacks because of their color and their freedom once taking away. Freedom and unfreedom are experienced most by human relationship between men and women. The relationship which they produce was to survive and live on to reproduce. Therefore work and society was largelyRead MoreSlavery And Freedom : An Interpretation Of The Old South1870 Words   |  8 PagesOakes, James. Slavery and Freedom: An Interpretation of the Old South. (New York: Knopf, 1990) In James Oakes book Slavery and Freedom: An Interpretation of the Od South, the author talks about slavery during the nineteenth century and the infinite question of â€Å"what was slavery?† (xi). Oakes starts off his book making a questionable reference of what is freedom and how a person without it is a slave. It also talks about how was the relationship between master and slave, differencesRead MoreSlavery And Freedom : An Interpretation Of The Old South867 Words   |  4 PagesJames Oakes book, Slavery and Freedom: An Interpretation of the Old South, is a reflection of slavery and freedom that was closely associated with the ordinary life in the South. The book also hits on points of liberal capitalism that the slave-owner s had. 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