Gender Status : A Slave, The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, And The American Promise

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.

Examining Prevalent Attitudes on Racism and the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

In 1619, the first enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia. Their sole purpose was to work the fields picking and farming profitable crops such as cotton and tobacco. It is estimated that between 1700 and 1800 six to seven billion enslaved Africans were brought to the American shore (Slavery). Life as an enslaved African was more than tough, it was appalling. Slaves were prohibited from becoming literate, they were restricted in every aspect, whether it was in movement or behavior, and they were punished severely. Slave masters “took sexual liberties” with enslaved women, which was thought to be a tactic to procreate slaves (Slavery). According to that interpretation, slave masters were fueled to

The main purpose for purchasing her was to help his daughters with the housework since his wife had passed away. Celia later then in 1855 began a relationship with one of the five slaves Robert Newsom owned named George. It was at this time Celia found out she was pregnant and did not know which of the two men would be the father of her child. George, to who is her intimate partner said, “he would have nothing more to do with her if she did not quit the old man.” according to (JRank Articles) Celia then decided she would include Newsom’s daughters Mary, who is the same age as Celia, and Virginia, 36, that her pregnancy is making her ill and she would appreciate if their father would respect her condition and leave her alone. “There was no indication that either Newsom daughters challenged her father.” In accordance with (JRank Articles) On June 23, 1855 during the morning time, Celia pleaded to her master, but he blatantly disregarded her wishes and said “I am coming to your cabin tonight.” according to (JRank Articles) Later that afternoon, Celia brought a piece of wood the size of a chair leg, but no bigger than to defend herself from her master of his obscene actions towards her. When Robert Newsom arrived that night and refused to leave Celia alone, she banged her master’s head twice and ended up killing him. Celia was frantic, for her intentions weren’t to kill her

In the 19th century, men and women are being expressed as issues in the era. In Celia A, Slave, the author McLaurin is giving us readers the idea of how men and women dies of innocence from trying to get their issues noticed and heard, such as the slave Celia. Celia A, Slave, is an excellent frame of work of remarkable events that happens in the American History. Celia is purchased by Robert Newsom in 1850. Young Celia only fourteen at time came from Audrain County to her new home, Callaway County. Now, Celia is the property of Robert Newsom; she is training to be a cook in the Newsom’s household. Unfortunately, Celia duties are more than just a cook. McLaurin is unknown if Celia was a slave before being the property of Robert Newsom. “The

Frederick Douglass was a major black-male voice in the fight for women’s suffrage. Douglass unlike many men believed that women too were people and deserved all of the rights a man was given. He believed this because black men were previously apart from the equality of all men, and they too should be apart in gaining this equality for all. Douglass, along with other strong willed women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, among others, they became the forefront of Women’s Suffrage in the 1848 Convention on Woman’s Rights at Seneca Falls.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” This famous quote is from a speech given by one of America’s most influential abolitionist speakers, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, this great American leader led a life many of us would find impossible to bear. After gaining his freedom from slavery, Douglass shared his stories through impressive speeches and vivid autobiographies, which helped America move forward as a country liberated from racial inequality. Although Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave allows readers to understand what life was like for slaves in antebellum America, the most important and relevant lesson to take away from this narrative today is the importance of perseverance. Douglass’s courage to resist and learn paired with his determination to keep his faith and ultimately find himself, is something to which people from every culture and time period can relate.

The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

Celia, a fourteen year old teenager living in Audrain County before her arrival on the farm of Robert Newsom in 1850. Not much is known of Celia’s life prior to her time on the Newsom farm. Robert Newsom was a successful and well respected family man making a great impact for his family with the move to Callaway, County. By 1850 Newsom acquired five slaves four adult males and a five year old boy with a sixth slave on the way. Celia was purchased by Newsome in the boarding county of Audrain County not to be a field hand like his previous purchases or to be a domestic servant to aid his daughters, but to be a replacement for his now dead wife.

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

Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography to provide a look into the world of a slave. His audience varied, from abolitionists, to whites that were on the fence about the issue, but his purpose remained: to allow non-slaves to learn about the horrors of slavery. In this autobiography, Douglass dispelled readers’ “illusions about slavery” by merely telling his true story, an everyman tale for slaves. Douglass worked on plantations in the Maryland area, and those plantations were considered to be easier than those of Georgia or Alabama, as unruly or ornery slaves were “sold to a Georgia [slave] trader” as punishment (54). Douglass may very well have been one of the better-treated slaves of his era, and in revealing the horrors of his

In 1800s America, slave ownership was a common practice and expressed an individual’s status in society; the more slaves you owned the higher up the social ladder you climbed. Robert Newsome, a recently widowed yeoman farmer, owned four to five slaves and sought after a more respectable social class. Although he was a farmer and utilized his slaves to work the land it was speculated that Newsome bought Celia, age thirteen or fourteen at the time, because he “… required a sexual partner” (McLaurin 18) and raped her on the trip back to the farm. Newsome gives Celia a job in the kitchen under the supervision of his two

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass depicts his life as a plantation slave, offering misinformed northern Christians and reformers in-depth accounts of the physical and emotional cruelties of slavery. As Douglass recounts his relationship and interactions with the harsh Mr. Covey, he disputes the basis on which southern slaveowners defended slavery. Douglass dispels their claims of encompassing a Christian duty to civilize blacks who they deemed naturally inferior by proving how they actively worked to keep slaves from assimilating and contributing to society.

The issue of slavery in antebellum America was not black and white. Generally people in the North opposed slavery, while inhabitants of the South promoted it. However, many people were indifferent. Citizens in the North may have seen slavery as neither good nor bad, but just a fact of Southern life. Frederick Douglass, knowing the North was home to many abolitionists, wrote his narrative in order to persuade these indifferent Northern residents to see slavery as a degrading practice. Douglass focuses on dehumanization and freedom in order to get his point across.

Owning slaves defined a person’s level of wealth in southern America, and Robert Newsom was no exception to this society, and at the time he purchased Celia, he owned five other slaves. “While it is possible that Newsom harbored some moral ambiguity about slave ownership, it is far more likely that he regarded it as a fitting reward for his years of labor, an indication of the social status he achieved through his own efforts” (McLaurin 8). Celia was fourteen years old at the time of the sale, which took place in Audrain County in the state of Missouri. Newsom was about sixty. On the way home from the sale before even reaching the plantation where they were going to stay Newsom raped Celia.