Source A And B: Helpful Or Useful?

Some of the major types of sources that Kaye uses throughout the book were newspapers, national archives, and even private manuscripts. Personal slave diaries and even family papers were part of the private manuscripts that Kaye included into the story to share some of the slaves personal stories with us, the readers. The national archives were given as a resource from Washington D.C. and one of the main documents that I see being used from this category was the Civil War and Later Pension files. U.S. court files were also given from Washington to give examples and truths to what exactly happened in this time period. The Mississippi Free Trader and Woodville Republican are the two newspapers that are given as a primary source. These sources together gave so much background information into the neighborhoods and the lives of the slaves throughout the south.

Douglass was also a great speaker and his speeches got many people to wonder if slavery should be abolished. Many journalists waited for him to speak before they critiqued his book. After they heard him speak, they were sold that his story was credible. In turn, these journalists printed many columns about Douglass and his hardship which helped the abolitionist cause greatly. Nearly every newspaper that came across the Narrative consented it with their approval. Isaac Nelson was a critic and waited to meet Douglass before critiquing on the Narrative. He stated, "My meeting with Frederick Douglass dispelled my doubts; he is indeed an extraordinary man-the type of class- such an intellectual phenomenon as only appears at times in the republic of letters" (xxix). The British Friend acknowledged that, "truth seems stamped on every page of this narrative" (xxviii). The Narrative was so powerful that jurors in Virginia jailed a person for circulating the book. The jurors considered the book was "intended to cause slaves to rebel and make insurrection, and denying the right of property of masters in their slaves" (xxxiii).

When approaching slavery from a historical standpoint, it is a tendency to generalize the experience of slaves. However, slavery differs per region and time period. The differing climates of the Chesapeake region and Deep South determined the crops that would be grown and consequently the severity of slave labor. Likewise, over time slavery evolved from a class based system (poor indentured servants working alongside blacks) to a

Frederick Douglass was born and raised in the United States of America. Douglass was born into slavery in the 19th century being that his mother was a black slave and his father happened to be a white man. On the other hand, Olaudah Equiano was in the 18th century started out “free” in Africa, later at the age of 11 being taken away to England to become a slave. With having this time difference of when they told their stories, you can easily tell the difference of how they wrote and developed their viewpoints. In Equiano’s narrative he is fighting against the end of the slave trade while Douglass wanted to end enslavement of blacks.

In the documentation of his early life, his views on slavery are not directly expressed. I think this is in part because he was too young to know any different. While his early life did not offer much opinion on his part, it did start the foundation for his opposition to slavery. All that he was ever exposed to. Slavery was his reality at this time and because it was

In the Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, written by himself, the author argues that slaves were treated no better than livestock. Douglass supports his claim by showing that slaves ate from feeding troughs and were used for their bodies in backbreaking labor. The author’s purpose is to inform the evil of slavery by demonstrating first hand experience in order to abolish slavery in the South. Based on this, Douglass is writing for white people that have the power to end slavery.

A major theme of the book is how effective the use keeping ignorance, creates delusions. Slaveholders withheld information from their slaves to maintain authority and order. Referring back to Douglass never

Passage 1 (ethos)- “When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such was literally the case” (Douglass 31). “He was, of all the overseers, the most dreaded by the slaves. His presence was painful; his eye flashes confusion; and seldom was his sharp, shrill voice heard, without producing horror and trembling in their ranks” (35).

In conclusion, the source hardly has any limitations, as in, it was based mostly on the authors’ eyewitness account some of which (the descriptions) could be verified till this day. The only thing that could raise a little (but not substantial) doubt could be the fact that he wrote and published the material at the time he had already been a member of the Anti- Slavery Society (as I mentioned earlier) leaving room for suspicion of some exaggeration in his accounts because he was inclined to be more sympathetic towards the slaves. Also, when he referred to the accounts of others, he never mentioned them by name. These been stated, it is pertinent to note that they do not in my own opinion affect the credibility of the writer or his account. One limitation in the account as

Slavery has been a major component of human civilization all throughout history. People turn to slavery for many reasons, such as fear of different ethnicities and fear that these new foreign people will take over land that is not theirs. The conditions under which slaves work and live varies greatly by the time and location of which the slaves lived. Slaves play a major role in their society and contribute greatly to their communities, often forming one of the largest masses of the population. Though the accuracy of the information from primary sources may be tainted with exaggeration and bias, it is easy to deduce from primary works the treatment of slaves and the working and living conditions surrounding them. According to many sources,

Since ancient times historians always examined artifacts and sources of different writings. The purpose of examining artifacts and writings were to find the time period, the place of its origin and whether they are primary or secondary sources. Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event/ topic under consideration either as participants or as witness. Some examples of primary sources are decrees, letters, newspapers, journals, birth and death registries etc. Secondary sources are those when a person was not present at the time of the event. Examples of secondary sources may include books, articles etc. Now, this brings to our discussion - is Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass a primary source? Even though people may different opinions about the autobiography of Frederick Douglass being a primary source, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass is a primary source because it mentions his purpose for writing, it clarifies the arguments made by Frederick Douglass, and finally, it illustrates the credibility of the author.

slaves uninformed. At the time Douglass was writing, many people thought that slavery was a

The slave’s life depended on their owners. Most owners treated their slaves well by making sure they had decent food, clean houses, and warm clothes to wear. Other planters spent little time caring about these things. They were determining to get the most work possible from their slaves. Slaves worked from sunup to sundown, at least sixteen hours a day. They sometimes suffered whippings and other cruel punishments. Owners thought of them as valuable property, that way the owners wanted to keep their human property healthy and as productive as they can. Keeping slaves families together was very difficult to do because slaves were considered as

The majority of the slaves were employed in agricultural areas in the South. By the mid-19th century, a large number of slaves worked in urban areas as well, and about 5% worked in more industrial occupations. The hours of the slave workers were long. The average life expectancy of African slaves was at least 12% lower than whit Americans in 1850 and the infant mortality rate was 25% higher for slaves. Oftentimes slave marriages and families dissolved due to separation. This concept is horrible when you take under consideration that family was the entire basis of African culture.