Self Defense In Celia

One of the many questions brought up while reading this book was the relationship between Celia and her

Phillips writes that the defining characteristic of a ‘Southerner’ is a feeling of white racial solidarity which casts all other social considerations in the shade; it is the “cardinal test of a Southerner.” When Phillips touches upon the subject of non-slaveholding whites, he emphasizes their zeal for the primacy of white civilization as an end unto itself. He relates two contemporary accounts of non-slaveholders, one a tinner and the other an overseer, to demonstrate this fervor but pointedly devalues their economic attachments to slavery, writing, “Both of them, and a million of their non-slaveholding like, had a still stronger social prompting: the white men’s ways must prevail; the Negroes must be kept innocuous.” Phillips rejects out of hand the sway of overt pecuniary motives against the weight of racial ones and this rejection is so absolute in part because “it is otherwise impossible to account

Frederick Douglass’ speech on American Slavery compares greatly to Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson. Banneker called Jefferson out for saying a lot of things with no action behind his words. Douglass does the same thing to the North. He makes an argument that the north claims to be against slavery, claiming that the south should abolish it, but Douglass calls them out on the fact that they are verbalizing their distaste for slavery with no action behind it to change the circumstances. Douglass, like Banneker, shows his intellect by delivering a tactful argument that gains respect. Douglass spends a substantial amount of time calling the north out on their Christianity, pointing out that if they were Christians they would do something about slavery, and not rely on empty words.

He eventually cracked and gave up valuable information on the whereabouts of Celia, and she was later captured. Celia was provided with a lawyer, which was another important situation. A young hot shot with aspirations of protecting her, this was a perfect lawyer for Celia. However, she was

Throughout history the North and South have always bumped heads when it came to slavery; the North saw slavery as a sin and the South did not see anything wrong with it because they grew up with slavery. Throughout the 1800’s slaves had little to no rights, it was not until the Celia Trial when the questioning of these rights came up. In June 23,1855, Celia had committed murder; she killed her Master Robert Newsom. Because of the crime that she had committed, this tested the laws placed on slaves in Missouri at the time. The policies that passed through affected Celia Trial, at the same time there were some policies that they could use in her advantage.

Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass both wrote narratives that detailed their lives as slaves in the antebellum era. Both of these former slaves managed to escape to the North and wanted to expose slavery for the evil thing it was. The accounts tell equally of depravity and ugliness though they are different views of the same rotten institution. Like most who managed to escape the shackles of slavery, these two authors share a common bond of tenacity and authenticity. Their voices are different—one is timid, quiet, and almost apologetic while the other one is loud, strong, and confident—but they are both authentic. They both also through out the course of their narratives explain their desires to be free from the horrible practice of slavery.

In early nineteenth-century Charleston, homeowners owned slaves, businesses owned slaves, and as did some of the free African Americans. This was the same for many cities in early America however time progressed and soon American cities abolished slavery albeit Charleston did not. Charleston, South Carolina, a very Southern city, was well known for its aristocratic classes of wealthy people and its large population of slaves. The civilians were known for their Southern pro-slavery views and hatred to those who oppress their beliefs of slavery, specifically the Quakers; abolitionists of slavery and for women’s rights. My life setting here in Canada is contradicting to those of the early nineteenth century lifestyles. In Canada, we believe in equality for colour and gender alike while in Charleston this was the flip. Sarah Grimke, a woman of Quaker faith belonging to a family of pro-slavery, is not only berated for her long time views of slavery but also for her goals and dreams for women. Upon Sarah’s arrival from her new home in the North to her old home back in Charleston a woman stated but was soon cut off, “You’re the Grimke daughter, aren’t you…the one who-…She’d meant to say the one who betrayed us.” (Kidd

The WPA narratives consist of collections of interviews and first-person accounts of former slaves. The narratives talk about the institution of slavery in the southern states, particularly Texas, the lifestyle of slaves, how slave-owners treated slaves, and how slaves sought freedom. The narratives focus on Texas as a state where slavery continued to flourish amidst attempts to abolish it. In this analytical essay, the WPA narratives will be examined to reveal the experiences of enslaved people and the institution of slavery in terms of the lifestyle of slaves, slave population, disintegration of the institution, and the urban slave experience.

In 1928 Ulrich B. Phillips wrote an argumentative essay about the reasons for the massive support that slavery received from both slaveowners and Southerners who didn’t possess slaves. The essay was well-received and supported by critics in the 1930-s. However, closer to 1950-s critics started doubting the objectivity of Phillip’s writing. It’s important to note that Ulrich B. Phillips is a white historian from the South, writing from a perspective of a white Southerner. When he was writing his article he failed to step back from his bias and provide fully objective support for the main theme of his argument, setting a doubt to the reliability of his work.

“American Slavery, 1619-1877” by Peter Kolchin gives an overview of the practice of slavery in America between 1619 and 1877. From the origins of slavery in the colonial period to the road to its abolition, the book explores the characteristics of slave culture as well as the racial mind-sets and development of the old South’s social structures.

Harriet Jacobs, a black woman who escapes slavery, illustrates in her biography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) that death is preferable to life as a slave due to the unbearable degradation of being regarded as property, the inevitable destruction of slave children’s innocence, and the emotional and physical pain inflicted by slave masters. Through numerous rhetorical strategies such as allusion, comparison, tone, irony, and paradoxical expression, she recounts her personal tragedies with brutal honesty. Jacobs’s purpose is to combat the deceptive positive portrayals of slavery spread by southern slave holders through revealing the true magnitude of its horrors. Her intended audience is uninvolved northerners, especially women, and she develops a personal and emotionally charged relationship with them.

The second reason is simply a generation difference. One might assume that due to the very different upbringings and the societies that the two were brought up in, that very conflicting morals and values may have been molded. Celia grew up in a Cuba under the rule of a dictator-like, oppressive leader. Celia saw Cuba’s true poverty stricken state and long for a new regime. Reasons for Lourdes’s rebellious attitude toward her mother and Cuba in general are much more abundant and clear. Though Lourdes was raised in a very similar society as of that of her mother’s upbringing, but the severity of the government that ruled during her childhood produced a different view of the country all together. Lourdes is a very strong, independent woman whom has man complaints of the method of rule in Cuba. “Lourdes never accepted the life designated

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.

In the years between 1830 and 1860 slavery became a common subject of the moral debate in the United States. The Second Great Awakening of the late 1700s exploded with a need to reform in American civilization. Christians were trying to rid society of the new American ideals based on a market economy. The revival of religion inspired people to analyze the greedy new ways and thoughts Americans were adopting. People began to criticize wrong-doings in the public and strive for change. Many wanted to return to the old Puritan dream of a perfect society. One of the changes they hoped to make was to become that “city on a hill” and eliminate the evil sin of slavery from the South. The Southerners, on the

Douglass gives detailed anecdotes of his and others experience with the institution of slavery to reveal the hidden horrors. He includes personal accounts he received while under the control of multiple different masters. He analyzes the story of his wife’s cousin’s death to provide a symbol of outrage due to the unfairness of the murderer’s freedom. He states, “The offence for which this girl was thus murdered was this: She had been set that night to mind Mrs. Hicks’s baby, and during the night she fell asleep, and the baby cried.” This anecdote, among many others, is helpful in persuading the reader to understand the severity of rule slaveholders hold above their slaves. This strategy displays the idea that slaves were seen as property and could be discarded easily.