Dear Journal

1610 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The economic effect of slavery

Dear Journal, My mother always says that a true lady is sweet and kind to every stranger she comes across. Seeing as you and I are strangers, I believe it’s only fitting for me to introduce myself. My name is Abigail Leona Harman and I was born and raised in Thomasville, Georgia. I am exactly eighteen years and four days old. My father runs a cotton plantation just north of the Florida border. We live in a little old white house with blue shutters overlooking the cotton fields. Although the plantation is not very large; only about 500 acres from start to finish, it is my home and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. My mother raised me without any brothers or sisters and I had a very lonely childhood. I made friends with the slaves that worked in the fields; much to my father’s dismay. He said that they were different from us, and it would always be that way. We had the same five slaves for most of my life, and they would always indulge in my childish games. However, since the civil war ended and slavery was outlawed my father couldn’t afford to pay them all so now he works the plantation with the help of only one servant. I miss them terribly. I do not understand why they wanted to leave us so badly; my father was a fair and kind master. The war has been so hard on all of us, the streets of Thomasville are always crawling with Yankee soldiers (Bragg). Nevertheless, I do not care to dwell on such things, I have more important matters to discuss. My father said my life would be changing soon, I am so excited! That’s why I am writing in this journal, I figure if my life is going to be changing I might as well document these changes by writing them down. I cannot wait to see what adventures await me! February 20, 1867 Dear Journal, Toda... ... middle of paper ... ...ore David still serves as a supervisor at one of Carnegie’s steel plants. Now that we don’t have to worry about money, David and I are very involved in the political aspect of America. We follow the elections carefully and recently had a hand in getting Mr. Benjamin Harrison elected as president. Mr. Carnegie was told that Mr. Grover Cleveland, a vindictive man who was running for his second presidential term, wished to eliminate all tariffs. This would be detrimental for Mr. Carnegie’s steel business! Luckily, we don’t have to worry about that now. Over the years my life has changed tremendously, some for the worse and some for the better. Nevertheless, I am grateful for everything I have been blessed with: my husband, family, and good fortune. I have learned that although things do not always go the way you planned them to, everything works itself out in the end.

Show More
Related

  • Understanding Slavery: Its Impact on American Psyche and Economy

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    When reading about the institution of slavery in the United States, it is easy to focus on life for the slaves on the plantations—the places where the millions of people purchased to serve as slaves in the United States lived, made families, and eventually died. Most of the information we seek is about what daily life was like for these people, and what went “wrong” in our country’s collective psyche that allowed us to normalize the practice of keeping human beings as property, no more or less valuable than the machines in the factories which bolstered industrialized economies at the time. Many of us want to find information that assuages our own personal feelings of discomfort or even guilt over the practice which kept Southern life moving

    Read More

  • Jays Journal

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jay's Journal is an interesting book written by Jay. The story is about Jay and how he was led into witchcraft and the occult and using drugs by his girlfriend and others. The author tells how Jay was led into all of this, and it also tells how he got his two best friends into using the same stuff and into the occult also known as the O. The author describes how he learned that the human race was afraid of mind over matter techniques and learned how to use them himself. He was able to levitate small objects and see peoples auwa and aura. This is a great book because it helps some people that deal with the same problems to see what might happen if they choose to follow the same path. I really liked this book because it might help people deal with this type of stuff, it was written in a real person's journal and described what led to his death, and I like how it says what happened every day of his life.

    Read More

  • Night Journal

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Journal Entry #1 Wiesel says this because he wants to keep the Holocaust from happening again. He probably meant that it is selfish to keep something to yourself when it is important and you can prevent it from happening. When he was being tortured, the other citizens did nothing to help. Maybe he just wants to make up for what others did not do for him. I agree and disagree with his statement.

    Read More

  • Slavery and the Life of Harriet Jacobs

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jacobs, Harriet, and Yellin, Jean. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Narrative

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading Frederick Douglass’s narrative of slavery, I couldn’t help but stop and try to gather my thoughts in any way possible. It was not the first time I had read the narrative, but this time around Douglass’s words hit me much harder. Perhaps, it was that I read the narrative in a more critical lens, or possibly it was just that I am older and more mature now from the last time I read it, but whatever the reason, I can confidently say reading the narrative has changed my heart and opened my eyes in many ways. I have always been aware of the injustices that slavery encompassed and of course like many other people, I have been taught about slavery in a historical narrative my entire life. But, Frederick Douglass’s narrative does more than just provide a historical perspective in seeing the injustices in slavery. His narrative asks the reader to look directly into the eyes of actual slaves and realize their very heart beat and existence as humans. Douglass humanizes the people of whom the terrible acts we acted upon that we learn about as early as elementary school. It is because of this that I decided to write this poem. Reading the narrative made me really think about Douglass’s journey and the story he tells on his road to freedom. I felt as if he was really speaking to me and, and in turn I wanted to give Douglass a voice in my own writing.

    Read More

  • Valerie Martin’s Novel Property

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    Valerie Martin’s Novel Property is an engrossing story of the wife of a slave owner and a slave, whom a mistress of the slave owner, during the late 18th century in New Orleans. Martin guides you through both, Manon Guadet and her servant Sarah’s lives, as Ms. Gaudet unhappily lives married on a plantation and Sarah unhappily lives on the plantation. Ms. Gaudet’s misserableness is derived from the misfortune of being married to a man that she despises and does not love. Sarah, the slave, is solely unhappy due to the fact that she is a slave, and has unwillingly conceived to children by Ms. Gaudiest husband, which rightfully makes Sarah a mistress. Throughout the book, Martin captivates the reader and enables you to place yourself in the characters shoes and it is almost as you can relate to how the characters are feeling.

    Read More

  • The Unique Experience of Women Slaves

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl. 2nd Edition. Edited by Pine T. Joslyn. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, INC., 2001.

    Read More

  • Jacobs & Douglass: An Insight Into The Experience of The American Slave

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself. Ed. Jennifer Fleischner. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

    Read More

  • A Brief Biography of Andrew Carnegie

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the same time that Carnegie was learning about the pains of poverty; his family including his father, grandfather, and uncle were ardent labor activists. Working to end the hierarchy of the past and empower working men. (PBS, 1999) These two experiences would influence both Carnegie’s career and his ideology for the rest of his life. At times at odds with each other, but occasionally, he was capable of walking a fine line of building his fortune and helping those around him to improve their lot.

    Read More

  • Second Industrial Revolution Essay

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Known as the “King of Steel”, Andrew Carnegie was the benevolent employer and is considered one the most influential people of the second industrial revolution. There has been great debate about his true character. Some consider him a tyrant; one who was only concerned about his advancement of ideas. On the other hand, another group sees him as a generous educator. There is evidence that points to both sides; however, the best way to see him is as a combination of both. Nevertheless, there is no debate on his impact in the industry.

    Read More

  • The Capitalists Who Shaped Post-Civil War America

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 1800’s, business leaders who built their affluence by stealing and bribing public officials to propose laws in their favor were known as “robber barons”. J.P. Morgan, a banker, financed the restructuring of railroads, insurance companies, and banks. In addition, Andrew Carnegie, the steel king, disliked monopolistic trusts. Nonetheless, ruthlessly destroying the businesses and lives of many people merely for personal profit; Carnegie attained a level of dominance and wealth never before seen in American history, but was only able to obtain this through acts that were dishonest and oftentimes, illicit. Document D resentfully emphasizes the alleged capacity of the corrupt industrialists. In the picture illustrated, panic-stricken people pay acknowledgment to the lordly tycoons. Correlating to this political cartoon, in 1900, Carnegie was willing to sell his holdings of his company. During the time Morgan was manufacturing

    Read More

  • Harriet Jacobs Incidents And A Slave Girl: An Analysis

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like.

    Read More

  • Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl And Frederick Douglass

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick

    Read More

  • Women in Slavery

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though life was incredibly tragic for the majority of colored women, there are a few who were fortunate enough to get an education, gain freedom, or be born a free black. Unfortunately, those people are the only African Americans who had the ability to record their lives through writing, for others were unable to do so because of their illiteracy. Susie King Taylor’s story is a perfect example of this. In her book, A Black Woman’s Civil War Memoirs, she narrates her life being born into slavery and eventually gaining freedom. She was born in 1848 on an island off the co...

    Read More

  • Andrew Carnegie's Contribution To America

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Andrew Carnegie didn’t invent steel, he was able to explore steel production while making it more efficient. Through his exploration, he encountered setbacks that ultimately helped shape labor laws and eventually exchanged his company for a life of philanthropy which still has a lasting effect today. Carnegie managed to come from humble beginnings, as he immigrated to America from Dunfermline, Scotland at age thirteen (Carnegie 27). Carnegie shifted his economic status and was able to become the richest man in the world. He was unable to achieve his great fortune and social prominence without obstacles, but he still managed to change the United States for the better through his philanthropy and his sponsorship of architectural projects.

    Read More

More about Dear Journal

Open Document