Celia, A Slave, By Melton Mclaurin

In 1850, 60-year-old Robert Newsom, a farmer, journeying forty miles from his home in Callaway County, Missouri to neighboring Audrain County to purchase a slave. Newsom was the leader of a substantial and complex family unit that incorporated a few of his developed youngsters, grandchildren, and five oppressed young men and men. His wife had kicked the bucket a couple of years prior, a thought that might have impacted his choice to buy a female slave, a fourteen-year-old young lady named Celia. From the primary day, Newsom regarded Celia as his mistress. Confirmation given under the steady gaze of the Missouri Supreme Court in 1855 shows that Newsom assaulted Celia interestingly on the voyage home from the slave market. He introduced her in

In the book titled Celia, a Slave, written by Melton A. McLaurin, the story of a young slave woman is narrated. Celia had been bought at the age of fourteen by a male slaveholder named Robert Newsom. Newsom purchased Celia with the intention to “purchase a replacement for his wife” (18). Newsom’s wife had passed away a few years earlier, so “he required a sexual partner” (18). Throughout her stay at the Newsom household, Robert Newsom consistently raped and sexually exploited Celia. Celia’s lover, George, gave her an ultimatum saying that if she did not stop having intercourse with Newsom, George would leave her. Stricken with anxiety over possibly losing her lover and determined to stop Newsom’s behavior, Celia beat Newsom to death and burned his body in the fireplace. Celia went to trial, was convicted guilty for the murder of Robert Newsom, and was sentenced to death. Celia, being both a woman and a slave, had to endure twice the amount of hardships in an era controlled by “the sexual politics of slavery,” which was characterized by the exploitation of slaves both financially and sexually, unfair power dynamics, and little legal recourse.

In “Domestic Slavery,” Francis Wayland makes the case for the theological prohibition, and so general abolition, of racial slavery. His particular thesis is most apparent in his conclusion, where he claims that “the Christian religion not only forbids slavery, but that it also provides the only method in which, after it has been established, it may be abolished, and that with the entire safety and benefit to both parties” (197). Wayland’s argument therefore has two burdens: first, to show how Christianity establishes a prohibition against slavery; and second, to show how Christianity provides the peaceful means of abolishing the already existing and entrenched system of racial slavery. The innovation of Wayland’s argument is how the first claim is linked to the second.

Melton McLaurin vividly describes the life of a sexually abused slave who fought back in the non-fictional memoir titled Celia, A Slave. As the story began, the 1800s were impassioned with one civil disagreement between two sides of the United States—whether the nation should legally end or perpetuate human enslavement (16). Slavery was particularly and heavily supported by the citizens of the Calloway County, the home of Robert Newsom (19). The proof of increased crop production through slave labor convinced Newsom to begin his investment in black slaves (20). Having an increased number of farmhands allowed Newsom more time for relaxation and a higher social status. Soon, after understanding the ease of obtaining human property, Newsom

The book Celia A Slave Melton McLaurin is telling us what happened to a slave owner and a slave that he brought. This story goes into details on the day of June 23,1855 about how a female slave that murdered her master and how she tried to cover it up. This story took place not far from Jefferson City in Calloway Country here in Missouri when around this time there were still debates over what state is going to be free and what states is going to be a slave one. As you’re reading the book you will see how race relations of that period was very … McLaurin talks in great details about the trail, the political climate of the time of the trail, and the experiences of a slave told in Celia view, and the antebellum time period.

Celia, A Slave was written by a man named Melton A. McLaurin in 1999. Melton has written many books about his lifelong interests of racism. In fact he even received the Lillian Smith award for his book Separate Pasts: Growing Up in the Segregated South and a notable book selection award from the New York Times for Celia, A Slave. Melton says “The case of Celia A slave reminds us that the personal and the political are never totally separate entities” (xiv). Celia, A Slave is about fourteen year old girl who became the property of a man named Robert Newsom. Robert was a Missouri farmer who repeatedly molested Celia. Regardless of her horrible experience with men, Celia still fell in love with a man named George, who was also a slave of

In the 1850s there were slave debates about how whites were forced to make daily moral decisions about slavery. Celia’s case actually demonstrates how Newsom’s abuse of power over a single slave obligated whites to make moral decisions about the nature of slavery. Moral decision making is usually made with ethnical motives in mind, with the help of distinction between right and wrong by each individual person.

Every man, woman, and child that is born unto this earth is given one thing; free will. Or at least in theory. That is not to say that in every society, there are consequences for actions or that everyone is to be allowed to run rampant doing what they want. But most restrictions today, at least legally, are enforced so as to not infringe on someone else’s right to freedom. In Celia, a Slave, Melton A. McLaurin’s interpretation of events that happened to a young unfortunate slave in the antebellum period, we are shown a glimpse at the frustratingly futile effort fought to give a slave women the right to self-defense against someone who encroached on something that everyone should have the right to have. Melton has written many books that gives insight of life in the south, such as The Knights of Labor in the South, and Separate Pasts: Growing Up White in the Segregated South. His take on this historic trial gives such an honest insight that someone from anywhere else but the south, could not have given.

Since before the time of Jesus Christ, religious hypocrisy has run rampant throughout those who held power. Countless lives have been affected by others twisting religious interpretation in order to fit their own needs. Slaveholders used religion and scripture to their advantage when disciplining slaves, sometimes even if they did no wrong. Religious hypocrisy is especially relevant in the life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass’s life story depicts how religious hypocrisy committed by both slaves and slaveholders diminished the rights of slaves, while at the same time allowing injustice to endure.

“Not only did slaves believe that they would be chosen by the Lord, there is evidence that many of them felt their owners would be denied salvation” (34). Levine claimed that the slaves uses their beliefs and religion as a “means of escape and opposition” because it gave them a “serious alternative to the societal system created by southern slaveholders” (54.)

Many people believe that Christians played a great role in abolishing slavery. However, Douglass’ ideas about religion and its connection to slavery shine a light on the dark side of Christianity. Douglass’ account of his own life is a very eloquent first hand retelling of the suffering and cruelty that many slaves were going through. His account gives a detail of the ills that were committed against the slaves. The atrocities committed by the various different masters varied in intensity depending on the masters’ individual personality (Glancy 42). This first hand narrative gives us a glimpse in to the connection between religion (Christianity) and slavery.

Celia, A Slave by Melton A. McLaurin In the book Celia, A Slave by Melton A. McLaurin, the accounts of one woman's life are bound together in a vivid way to relay the circumstances surrounding a female slave's cruel life. The life of this woman named Celia was filled with acts of molestation, rape, murder, and eventual execution. Through the use of court records, correspondences, and newspaper accounts, the author delineated in chronological order the life of Celia: from her purchase by Robert Newsom to her execution on December 21, 1855. When Robert Newsom bought Celia from an unnamed person, the first night that he spent with her he raped Celia.

his or her life. Being able to make these decisions is a God-given right that

Supporters of slavery often pointed to the bible as an advocate for slavery. Nowhere did Jesus say that slavery was inhumane, cruel, or otherwise immoral. In fact the bible even mentions that it is a slave’s duty to serve their master. Those in favor of slavery interpreted this as favoring their cause. For those who were religious, Christianity gave strong reasoning for why

Celia, a slave tells an impacting story set in the 1800s in Callaway County, Missouri, where a young slave girl’s purpose in life was initiated by excruciating brutality and consuming emotional damage, deep enough to crush every last bit of hope in just about anyone. In a time where morality and ethical behavior were not well known household topics, the social norms where in black and white – literally – the disparity between the white race and the black race where unjustly disembodied.