Compare And Contrast The Education Of White People And Slavery By Margaret Walker

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.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. “For it is almost an unpardonable offence to teach slaves to read in this Christian country”(Douglass 44). It took Douglass courage to ask the white kids to teach him, because slaves could be considered useless and vary situations could take place towards the slave. Frederick Douglass had excessive amounts of strength. Whites believed that the blacks, slaves, were animals and had no purpose on earth but to work. The author writes in a formal tone about slavery so the narrative would be attracted to the white race and they would understand that slaves can be knowledgeable.

Slavery by Another Name gives readers an interesting and eye opening look into the past of the re-enslavement of Black Americans. The author, Douglas Blackmon, presents a compelling and effective presentation and argument; which adds on to my previous knowledge of this familiar and personal topic, that slavery did not necessarily end with the Emancipation Proclamation. He argues that from the Civil War to World War II Black Americans were re-enslaved through hard labor. He uses various examples of real life experiences from descendants of the re-enslaved Black Americans and documents to support his presentation which gives the reader a better view as to what those times were like. Blackmon researched all the facts and information for this book himself being certain not to alter any quotations from individuals to keep everything true. Although Blackmon uses many stories in his book he chose to focus this narrative on one forgotten black man and his family, Green Cottenham. Blackmon states in his introduction, “The absence of his voice rest at the center of this book” (pg 10).

Although each article is separate, they are all interconnected. No matter the main idea, each article fights for black equality. The first article, “Our wretchedness in consequence of slavery,” Walker wants to make it clear to the reader how the blacks are treated. “... That we, (colored people of the United States of America) are the most wretched, degraded and object set of beings that ever lived since the world began…”(pg 7) He focuses on how other empires used to treat their slaves, and then compares that treatment to the slaves in the U.S. “The Indians of North and of South America-the Greeks-the Jews- … in fine, all the inhabitants of the earth, (except however, the sons of Africa) are called men. But we, (colored people) and our children are brutes.” (pg 7) He used the Jewish slaves in Egypt as an example on page 10. Walker asked for someone to find a page in history where it says that the Egyptians insulted their slaves by telling them they aren’t part of the human family. You won’t find that page, but the whites cannot deny that charge. The second article “Our wretchedness in consequence of ignorance,” is about how the whites want to keep blacks uneducated as possible. “It is said by the Southern slaveholders, that the more ignorant they can bring up the African, the better slaves they make.” (pg 57) Whites created laws so slaves couldn’t learn to read or write. The

The book “American Slavery 1619-1877” is a book on slavery unlike anything I have ever read. Most books on slavery look at it through extremely common perspectives and have flooded the nonfiction genre. However, the author, Peter Kolchin, decides to show the reader that his studies on slavery are different from any previous study done. He brings up a lot of arguments that were actually thought to be unarguable, and shuts them down. It is miraculous to think that someone finally got to the very root of American slavery and can finally give Americans of today a real feel for the reasons behind slavery.

The United States of America, a symbol for freedom and liberty throughout the world, was built upon the backs of millions of vulnerable slaves. By the time we became a country in 1776, slavery was engrained in many of our founding fathers minds as the source of economic wellbeing. Each state, community and individual had their own ideas about the institution and whether it was morally or constitutionally right. It is one of the highest debated topics in the history of our country. Slavery, controversial as it may be, was an integral part of the maturation of our young nation.

In Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1841) we get an account of Douglass’ life of enslavement during the American Civil War. Douglass becomes a voice for countless slaves who couldn’t read or write and he ultimately shocks the nation with his chilling account of his enslavement. It was believed that black people couldn’t write such literary texts but Douglass purposely wrote this text with the use of literary devices and techniques to convey to the people that when blacks are educated they can address important issues like why in a country that believes ‘all men are equal’ is it that black men are excluded from this equality. People didn’t believe that Douglass was in fact an ex-slave because he was wrote like a white intellectual, there was a common belief that all slaves were illiterate because it was illegal to teach slave how to read and write.

Ophelia Settle Egypt, informally known as Ophie, was an African American woman ahead of her time. She attained the educational status of less than one percent of the American population, was liberal and accepting of others despite the criticism around her, fought to end racism, worked independently of her husband, and believed in limiting family growth. All of Egypt’s beliefs and lifetime achievements represent a new type of woman: a woman who refuses to assimilate to her gender stereotype of weak, inferior, and domestic. Egypt dedicated her life to social work through various activities. She worked as a sociologist, researcher, teacher, director of organizations, and social worker at different times in her life. Egypt’s book, The Unwritten History of Slavery (1968), and the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Southeast Washington D.C. named after her represent Egypt’s legacy and how one person is capable of social change.

The black slaves resisted and tried to run away they wouldn’t give up. Even though there was laws in trying to stop the blacks from running away, they still ran away. There were laws made that if anyone were to find black slave they should do to them what they feel be appropriate. Man slaves were killed or burnt in the book there was a case were a black slave was burnt in a slow fire for 8-10 hours. In some cases both white and black slaves ran way together but the punishment wouldn’t be the same white would only extend there period of serving as slaves and the black salves were hanged or killed. Even then they could see racism how the whites that committed the same crime would get treated differently then the black slaves. The black salves couldn’t do anything besides being slaves, so thought the white people. Even the white servants were treated different, not only were they working for a set period of time, but they were treated as humans and they had rights, and would receive land and pay at the end of their term. The white people justified their own slave trade because in Africa slavery existed too. This was

African slavery started at the 16th century and ended in the 19th century. Slave life was the most brutal and disrespected period of America. When Africans first stepped foot on the slave ships coming to America things were bad. The white man beat, raped, and treated the black men like animals. Life on the plantation wasn’t any better. The slaves didn’t work for a paycheck, they worked for their lives. The black man had difficulties adapting to the environment, learning another language, and being a monogamous.

Throughout the semester, it has been a primary discussion of the differing ideas of freedom that are presented throughout the numerous narratives. One of the main differences amongst the narratives is the different experiences that results in where people are positioned in their lives, such formally enslaved people or people never enslaved. For example, there is exposure to the life of a slave in the Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives. The belief amongst people is that people enslaved are unhappy in their enslaved positions. As it is written by William Moore, Emma Blalock, John C. Bectom, Uncle David Blount, discussing the brutal conditions and hardships of slavery that are come to known throughout history.

The history of African-Americans has been a paradox of incredible triumph in the face of tremendous human tragedy. African-American persons were shown much discrimination and were treated as second class citizens in the colonies during the development of the nation. The first set men, women, and children to work in the colonies were indentured servants, meaning they were only required to work for a set amount of years before they received their freedom. Then, in 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, a source of free labor, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in

Before reading Slavery in the North by Shane White I was uneducated about slavery that occurred in the northern United States. In school we are taught about how bad the slaves in the south were treated and it never occurred to me that there was slavery taking place in the north as well. In the article Slavery in the North Shane White uses slave housing, cultural freedom and control over their own lives to show how slavery in the south was worse than slavery in the north.

The stereotypes in the story, makes it difficult for the readers to conclude the race of each character. People assume that the African American character would be illiterate and uneducated and the white character to be well-educated. During the time period of the story African Americans did not have access to a decent education; making it harder for them to learn just the basics. Whites had access to good education, making it easy to believe the white character is more educated. It is also believed that a person that is well educated will have a better lifestyle when they are older. A well-educated person will have a better job, paying more, and have a better opportunity to afford the means of a luxurious lifestyle. An under educated person will most likely live in poverty, struggle for their basic needs, or live in a declining neighborhood. Behavior is a harder stereo type to use to distinguish a race. Many assume that whites have an entitled attitude toward life. Whites had access to a good education and jobs, they had a “I’m better than you” attitude. On the other hand, many think African Americans were upset because of how easy it was for whites to have better access to the basic necessities such as education and housing.

So many people wanted slaves, especially in the South. They had more farms than they could handle on their own. Northern owners wanted them because they would have to do less work. Very few owners treated their slaves nicely and paid them to do work around the house. They would not be treated like family but would get treated a whole lot better than your “typical slave.” Those kinds of circumstances occurred more in the Northern states than the Southern states.