Analysis Of Four Arrivals By William Still

Imagine being stuck in chains for six months in your own filth and waste. For some slaves on the middle passage it was exactly like that. This, however, was different than slaves born into slavery, for they didn’t have to go through that harsh journey. Both were common to try and escape, few making it. Making the outcomes of Frederick Douglass, who wrote an autobiography, and Kunta Kinte, from the movie “Roots,” different. While “Roots” and the narrative of the “Life of Frederick Douglass” have some similarities, the differences of their origins and outcomes are more significant because that’s what shaped them who they are.

On May 4th, 1961, thirteen brave individuals set out on a mission to start a national movement to overturn segregation in the south. Under the leadership of Congress of Racial Equality, seven African Americans and six whites traveled together on two commercial buses, the Greyhound and the Trailways. They called themselves “The Freedom Riders.” They intended to travel from Washington DC to New Orleans, Louisiana together. On the way, they would deliberately violated Jim Crow laws. The Freedom Riders risked being assaulted, arrested, and even killed. Many other civil rights activists opposed their plan because they felt the idea was too confrontational and dangerous, and could possibly result in a setback for the civil rights movement. Despite the risks and opposition, the Freedom Riders did not abort their mission. The activists were tired of waiting, therefore they decided that they are not going to

Both free and enslaved Africans were discriminated against in this time period but responded differently towards their challenges. African Americans found ways to cope with their situation one being religious gatherings (Doc D). They sang old traditional African songs and danced. By doing so, they can forget about life troubles for a moment and give themselves a sense of hope that someday they would by free. Some slaves where more violent than other and began rebellions against their white owners. The use of rebellion was inspired to them by the Bible and that God was pleading for their cause with earnestness and zeal (Doc G). Slaves who caused mischief was relocated deeper south where the treatment and condition was even worse. The Fugitive Slave Law forced the North to send back any slaves who escaped to the North in return for a reward. Slaves who tried to escape to the North were also relocated. By relocating them, the chances of escape decreased for them. Even

There were countless individuals who helped fugitives going through Connecticut. As this primary source showed, most of the agents were from New Britain. This was probably because abolitionist were more lenient in helping slaves escape from slavery than other towns were. Connecticut was divided on the issue of slavery, but the "Compromise of 1850 seemed to bring about a steady growth of anti-slavery unity within the state" (Connecticut Humanities). Therefore, after 1850 were more willing to help slaves escape, even if the "conductors" would get in trouble if they were caught.

 African Americans had a rough life during the revolution. Mary Postill is a prime example of the hardships that an African American slave had to go through. After she fled to Charleston, the military gave her a certificate of freedom. At the time, the military was controlled by the British. A loyalist who claimed freed blacks wrongly then took control of Mary and her family and made them his slaves so they could no longer be free. Gray brought Mary to court when she attempted to flee. She swore that she was free, but Gray, being that he was an esteemed white man, won the case. He then sold Mary and her family down the river for a hundred bushels of potatoes. This was her punishment for trying to escape him. The owners of slaves usually made their workers do the most tedious and tiresome work such as helping with the rice production. They were not well fed and they were not given enough supplies to make their own clothing. The slaves were also physically and mentally abused. Carol Berkin states in chapter 8 of

Runaway slaves needed to be dressed in better clothes, food had to be bought to feed them, even train tickets needed to be bought every once and a while. For the slave, running away was not an easy task. To begin with, a slave had to escape from their owner, sometimes very difficult due to dogs or fences. The runaway slaves had to travel ten to twenty miles each night to reach the next “station”. Each night was a night filled with fear because of slave hunters and spies. Lots of money could be made for turning in a runaway slave. Depending on your own luck and cunning, you either made it to freedom, or you didn’t. Some slaves were caught multiple times but continued to try to run for freedom. Conditions were not great either. The “passengers” often had to travel through rain, mud, washed out roads, bogs, rivers, and streams. Gaining freedom was not easy.

His Promised Land: The Autobiography of John P. Parker, Former Slave And Conductor on the Underground Railroad.

dollar reward. Document C tells that the white people realized that the slaves were planning at

Abolitionists helped the slaves run away to safer places and/or run away completely. As evidence, the tales of the Underground Railroad demonstrate that, a small group of bondspeople managed to escape from slavery permanently and travelled in a northerly direction, often with the assistance of others. Among them include Frederick Douglass, Henry “Box” Brown, William Wells Brown, Harriet Jacobs, Tubman and Josiah Henson.

On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, one of history’s outstanding public speakers, carried out a very compelling speech at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. Within that moment of time where the freedom of Americans was being praised and celebrated, he gathered the nation to clear up the tension among slavery and the establishment of the country’s goals. Frederick Douglass’s speech mentions the development of the young nation, the Revolution, and his own life experience. While speaking, his main subject was seen to be American slavery. The “Fourth of July Oration” was a commendable model of Frederick Douglass’s affection and engagement towards the freedom of individuals. Frederick Douglass’s speech left an impact on his audience

On the morning of Sunday August 21, 1831 six slaves met at a barbeque at the Travis plantation. Everything seemed like a normal day to everyone. The men were there for three hours while they waited for Turner to arrive. All together they were there for eleven hours discussing their plans until they finally decided that that was the day that the insurrection was going to unfold. Their plan was to capture the county armory at Jerusalem then march thirty miles to Dismal Swamp. “Two things were decided: to begin their work that night, and to begin it with a massacre so swift and irresistible as to create in a few days more terror than many battles, and so spare the need of future bloodshed.” (Higginson)

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850 that allowed slave catchers to seize alleged fugitive slaves without a trial and prohibit the assistance of fugitives and/or impeding their retrieval (“Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy”). As a result, many former slaves were captured and forced to return to their masters. For example, Anthony Burns, a slave from Virginia who escaped slavery and established a new life in Boston, was detained by a federal marshal (Fraser 360). The arrest incited uprisings and protests by Boston’s white and colored abolitionists (Fraser 360). Nevertheless, public opinions of the Fugitive Slave Act varied depending on the country’s region. On one hand,

William’s analogy between civil society and a group of people aboard a ship eased the dynamics of his letter. By illustrating how his ideas of liberty would take place on a ship, Williams’s ideas seem more approachable rather than terrifying his audience by explain it with everyday details of society. Since everyone other than the Indians in the New World had lived on a ship for months, to arrive to the New World, Williams made this analogy relatable to everyone’s previous experiences. Williams’s analogy could have been unsuccessful because he did not illustrate clear margins for what daily life would look like with his ideas in

Here's how PBS describes those individuals in its release promoting the film: "Radicals. Agitators. Troublemakers. Liberators. Called by many names, the abolitionists tore the nation apart in order to make a more perfect union. Men and women, black and white, Northerners and Southerners, poor and wealthy, these passionate antislavery activists fought body and soul in the most important civil rights crusade in American history. What began as a pacifist movement fueled by persuasion and prayer became a fiery and furious struggle that forever changed the nation."

If a person is fit enough and meets all “great slave standards” they will be considered a “top article” to anybody willing to sell them. Charles Gilbert was just that (p. 119-125). With his gingerbread color and peak physical ability, Gilbert, like William Peel spoken of before, was aggressively advertised to buyers. For an unknown reason he was not selling at a desirable price and was eventually sold for $10, which at the time was not a high rate. Gilbert couldn’t decide if he should be more upset at the fact nobody wanted him or that he sold for such a low price. With that in mind, he escaped and found his family. Not even his family could help him though, due to the new Fugitive Slave Acts of 1850, they knew even providing him with a simple glass of