Lydia Child Essay

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins, Contending Forces (1900), characters articulate views on race problem, full identity and citizenship. Baym (2008) describes Mark Twain’s The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894) as: “a dark and troubling view of the nineteenth century American values in a Mississippi river town of the 1830’s and centered on the switching of two babies born on the same day-one the result of miscegenation, the other the legitimate son of a white slave owner. Twain’s purpose for writing this story is to reveal the absurdities of slavery and its victims and victimizers alike-the underserved self-hate of slaves and the unearned pride of whites. The way in which Twain portrays the twinning of law and customs in sustaining the institution of slavery indicates his despair over prospects for true racial equality, a despair supported by the realities of Jim Crow laws and the escalation of lynching in the post Reconstruction Period (p. 96).

Not so long ago few Americans spoke of slavery – which was swept under the rug until the civil rights movement in the 1950s. The shame of slavery gradually rose to public consciousness over the last five decades. Now the topic appears everywhere, in movies, television documentaries and academia. Nearly every major museum has mounted an exhibition on slavery. This issue has become an integral part of the foundation for understanding America’s past. With specific attributes, slavery is distinct from all other forms of oppression, giving it a unique place in human history. Many consider Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) as the best among anti-slavery propaganda that appeared with increasing frequency during the years preceding the Civil War. The primary reason of its appeal is the unsurpassed clarity of Douglass’ writing, which displays his superior sensitivity and intellectual capacity as he addresses the woeful irony of the existence of slavery in a Christian, democratic

However, she quickly began to realize that the racial-ideology espoused by white southerners was used as a means to oppress and subordinate the African American community. Although many blacks were content to accept discrimination, segregation, and disenfranchisement as the norm, Anne (from this moment on) refused to conform to her status as an “inferior.” Rather, she constantly questioned and criticized the treatment of African Americans, even as a young child. For example, she mentally chastised Raymond’s family for refusing to acknowledge her mother at church (pg. 61) and she refused to conform to Mrs. Burke unreasonable household rules (pg. 122). Ultimately, at this young age, Anne knew intuitively that the racial status quo in the south was morally wrong and unjust. In many ways, this awareness contributed to Anne’s tireless commitment to the cause of desegregation and racial equality later in

The phrase “art imitates life” can be used to describe many works of literature. Authors and the stories they write are often influenced by the changing world around them along with the evolution of new perspectives and ways of thinking regarding a subject. While this may sound simply like a common literary trope, it is of great importance and significance in many genres of literature. None has this been more apparent than in both the anti-slavery and women’s empowerment movement of the early to mid-1800s. Two major influence authors in their respective subjects, Frederick Douglass and Fanny Fern, were heavily influenced by the changing societal trends of the time of which they expressed through their writing. Douglass’s speech in particular “What to a Slave is the 4th of July?” was heavily influenced by Douglass’s own personal experience as a slave as well as the rising prominence of the abolitionist movement in the United States. By referencing the contradictory nature of the Constitution relegating personal freedoms exclusively to white, property owning males, Douglass bluntly references the systematic inequalities faced by people of color in the United States. Never would the works of an African American author, especially one challenging the established institution of slavery, gain so much attention if not for the anti-slavery movement and shifting perspectives surrounding it.

Harriet Ann Jacobs helped start a movement of anti-slavery writing that, through literature, would eventually help change society’s view of slavery. Jacobs’ “Incidents” was written for an audience of free white women and its purpose was to involve these women in political action against the institution of chattel slavery and the ideology of white racism” confirming herself as an anti-slavery writer using a fictional character and different voice to tell truth (Yellin

Based on the evidence supplied by author Kent Anderson Leslie, slaves in antebellum Georgia did not always live under the oppressive system of chattel labor. According to Leslie, the rules that applied to racial hierarchy were not strictly enforced, especially when it came to propertied and wealthy planters such as David Dickson who chose to raise his mixed-race daughter at home. Amanda Dickson’s experiences during Reconstruction demonstrate that she had much more freedom after slavery was abolished than may have been expected before the Civil War. Amanda Dickson’s experiences and those of her mother in particular do not fit the presumed mold of oppressed slave with no opportunity for a better life.

My paper is an attempt to analyze the entire era of slavery and its later effects upon the lives of Africans who were brought forcefully to America as slaves and even after its abolition were treated inhumanly. My major attempt is to get an in depth insight of the struggles of these people for their survival in such an environment and the predicament of black women who were doubly oppressed; were the victims of both the whites and black men; and treated as naked savages and beasts, with Alice Walker’ masterpiece and Pulitzer prize winning The Color Purple. I have taken this project with my keen interest because the novel touched me deeply and I wanted to analyze it thoroughly.

   Frederick Douglass was arguably the most prominent African American abolitionist during the mid-19th century. He established his notoriety through his narrative entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave published in 1845. Frederick Douglass also produced an African American newspaper, Frederick Douglass' Paper, which highlighted the reception and critiques of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Frederick Douglass praised Uncle Tom's Cabin through not only his writing but in the critiques and letters contained in his newspaper. It is important to look at these reviews to understand Douglass' intentions. However, C.V.S. from the Provincial

The anti-slavery topic was the inspiration behind Lydia’s first anti-slavery piece, An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans. This piece was received poorly and many people were horrified that the beloved author of their historical novels, children’s literature, and household advice could write such a horrific piece. Many of Lydia’s customers at this time were wealthy white Americans and this customer group considered abolitionist to be extremist and uneducated when it came to the politics and philosophies. With this in mind, Lydia’s sales drastically dropped and subscriptions to her pieces The Juvenile Miscellany, stalled so aggressively that it caused her journal to fail entirely. When she noticed how she writings were being received she was appalled and was very unapologetic to her critics. In fact, she believed so strongly in her voice and her opinion she followed this writing with additional antislavery writings.

Lydia Maria Child was an author, activist, and abolitionist. Her books and writings were about abolition, racial justice, and common opinions. Child wrote one of the earliest American historical novels, the first complete and thorough history of American slavery, and the first comparative history of women. Also, she edited the first American children's magazine, edited books for the freed slaves, and published the first book that was designed for the elderly. Lydia had an extraordinary ability for knowing exactly what the public wanted to read and when they wanted it.

Sarah, a slave at the plantation, says that “things ain’t bad here [the plantation]” and that she can “get along” (145). This connects back to my experiences as a young girl living in a liberal area because personally, it is blinding to be in such an environment. During election day, I thought that there was no way that any person could support someone who could think such unfair, cruel, demeaning things about another person, but I was let down because of how protected and unknowing I was about people who think a different way than myself.

As one of the most accosted and banned books since the early 20th century, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has illustrated in fine detail the extents of racism in the 1900s. Scholars, librarians, teachers, and students alike have worked to discover the exact meaning of the book’s blatant use of racist qualities and slurs, contrary to Mark Twain’s forewarning against such debate. Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may at first appear to support racism by making the “educated” pro-slavery, Mark Twain uses a combination of reverse psychology and influential role models to show the birth of abolitionist ideals within the youth towards the end of the 1900’s. Therefore, despite its potentially excessive use of the “n-word”, it should

This book was not the hit it was meant to be. As one of the first anti-slavery publication printed in book form, but Child did make more despite what happened at first. As her sales plummeted, her friends did as well. “By daring to condemn slavery at a time when abolition was still highly unpopular even in the North, Child became the object of national hatred.” (History of American Women)

The introductory line of Harriet Jacob’s preface to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, “Reader, be assured this narrative is no fiction”, is short yet serving (Jacobs 224). Although brief in its nature, this statement manages to encompass two major aspects that characterize African-American literature: audience and truth. In all writing, understanding the target audience and how to arrange an argument or essay to appeal to that specific crowd is paramount. However, it is especially important for African-American authors, who typically need to expose injustices or call for social change in their works. In particular, two African-American authors who understood their audience and how to manipulate that understanding were Charles W. Chesnutt and Marcus Garvey. Although they were born only twenty-nine years apart, Chesnutt and Garvey technically wrote for different time periods. While Chesnutt’s work is associated with “Literature of the Reconstruction”, Garvey was grouped with authors and activists from the Harlem Renaissance (Gates and Smith 580 ). The separation of their literary epochs drove Chesnutt and Garvey to write for contradistinctive audiences that demanded unique written techniques and rhetorical strategies, but that both asked for utmost honesty.

The controversy of racism scorches Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass himself. Douglass unveils the atrocious truth about slavery that was hidden for so many years. Every beating, every death, every malicious act was all recorded for the people of the U.S. to finally see the error of our ways. The short essay, Slavery as a Mythologized Institution, explains how people in that time period justified the disgusting behavior that was demonstrated regularly. Religion and intellectual inferiority were concepts that were used to manipulate the minds of everyone around into believing that practicing slavery was acceptable. However a very courageous man, Frederick Douglass challenges those beliefs. Douglass debunks the mythology of slavery in his narrative by rebuking the romantic image of slavery with very disturbing imagery, promotes his own views on the intellectual belief of slaves, and exposes the “system” for promoting the disloyalty among slaves.