A just crime was committed out of hopelessness by a 19-year-old slave named Celia who had been a victim of her master’s constant sexual abuse since the age of fourteen, murdered her master Robert Newsom. Unfortunately it happen in the midst of turbulent political times because of the slavery struggles in the neighboring state, this was one of the many factors that influenced the outcome of Celia’s trial, which did not seem to be in her favor, for at the time slaves were seen as nothing more than property, so in order to rule in Celia’s favor they would have to recognize them as people, which would have raised significant questions about the right of slaves to fight back against their owners abuse. McLaurin provides a great insight into the hardships faced by slaves, especially females to whom being raped was a reality and why the ruling against Celia and her execution came as no surprise. Around 1820, the Newsom family settled in Callaway County, Missouri. By 1850, Robert Newsom, the head of the Newsom family owned a few hundred acres of land, some cattle, and five male slaves. Soon after his wife’s passing he felt the need for female companionship so he decided to purchase a sixth slave, a 14 year old female named Celia who he considered his concubine, …show more content…
Groups had formed to ensure that Kansas entered the Union as a slave state. The judge during Celia 's trial, William Hall, knew that Missourians wanted Celia to be hanged. Slavery and people 's opinions of slavery at that time played a huge role in Celia 's trial “Thus on the eve of Celia’s trial, the reverberations of an increasingly violent struggle over slavery in Kansas had disrupted the public tranquility in Missouri and threatened with discord, the state’s basic political, legal, and social institutions” (McLaurin
Melton McLaurin’s book Celia, A Slave is the account of the trial, conviction, and execution of a female slave for the murder of her “master” Robert Newsom in 1855. The author uses evidence compiled through studying documents from Callaway County, Missouri and the surrounding area during the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Although much of what can be determine about this event is merely speculation, McLaurin proposes arguments for the different motives that contribute to the way in which many of the events unfold. Now throughout the book the “main characters”, being Celia, her lawyer Jameson, and the judge William Hall, are all faced with moral decisions that affect the lives of two different people.
Celia, A Slave by Melton McLaurin tells a true story of a female slave who was sexually exploited by her master and the trial she faced as a result. At the young age of fourteen, Celia was brought to Callaway County under her new master, Robert Newsom. Celia later murdered Newsom, in an act of self-defense, and was placed on a trial challenging the institute of slavery and the moral beliefs of anyone involved with slavery in the South. The short life of the young Celia revealed a slave girl who had pushed beyond the ideal limit of a system that denied her humanity and threatened to erode the base of the antebellum southern society.
In Celia, A Slave, a slave named Celia was sent to court because she committed homicide. However, the murder was justified, because she was trying to defend herself from her slave owner, Robert Newsom, who was attempting to rape her once again. This time around, Celia attempted to protect herself by striking Newsom, just in order to daze him for a bit. She did not intend to kill the man, but simply keep him away from her. Unfortunately, in Missouri in 1850, the only person that would be protected by law would be the slave owner, when it came to the rape of a slave. The slave owner would be allowed to immediately punish a rapist for trespassing on their property, which in this case, would be the slave. Celia, A Slave is a story that
To understand the desperation of wanting to obtain freedom at any cost, it is necessary to take a look into what the conditions and lives were like of slaves. It is no secret that African-American slaves received cruel and inhumane treatment. Although she wrote of the horrific afflictions experienced by slaves, Linda Brent said, “No pen can give adequate description of the all-pervading corruption produced by slavery." The life of a slave was never a satisfactory one, but it all depended on the plantation that one lived on and the mast...
During the antebellum period of the United States, slavery was harshly practiced by white slave owners. The book Celia, a Slave is a factual interpretation of one isolated incident that depicted a very common slave fear during that era. Through illustrating the true horrific life of a young female slave who was constantly brutally raped by her master, the author Melton McLaurin, explains a better understanding of what slavery was actually was like to today’s society. The story of Celia is an emblem of the root of racial problems that America still faces today in society.
In the stories expressed by Harriet Jacobs, through the mindset of Linda Brent, some harsh realities were revealed about slavery. I’ve always known slavery existed and that it was a very immoral act. But never before have I been introduced to actual events that occurred. Thought the book Linda expresses how she wasn’t the worst off. Not to say her life wasn’t difficult, but she acknowledged that she knows she was not treated as bad as others.
There is a total of eleven family members in the immediate Sanchez family. This paper will discuss Gloria and Celia Sanchez. Celia and Hector are the parents of 24-year-old Gloria and her five siblings. Gloria lives in the same neighborhood as her parents, with her husband Leo, who is not a U.S. citizen. Gloria and Leo do not have any children, but her sister Carmen comes over frequently for visits. Gloria’s relationship with her husband is rocky because he is physically abusive. Gloria wants to the abuse to end, but is scared if the authorities get involved that Leo will be deported. She is also concerned if she leaves her husband, her church and family will not stand by her decision. Another worry is the lack of schooling and training
A slave woman's body was not of her own, but for property, for control, and for pleasure of the one who owned her. In Gayl Jones's Corregidora, Four generations endure the brutal and harshness of sexual and emotional abuse from slavery to marriage. This trickling factor of abuse must be continuously retold and soon manages to uncover a secret that has been kept silence from the very beginning. Gayl Jones illustrates that future generations of men and women are affected by the sexual exploitations that women in slavery experienced.
However, Melton's piece describes the life of a woman that existed in real life. Several books that discuss slavery, sexual harassment, oppression and racial discrimination use fictional characters to portray what happened in the new society. A good example is a book known as "The Native Son" which tells a story about a slave known as Bigger, who is a fictional character. Similar to Celia’s action, Bigger also killed his master due to sexual harassment. Another perfect example is "Kindred" a book about a slave called Dana, a fictional character who killed her master because of rape. Celia the Slave Book, on the other hand, is a story about a real woman owned by Robert Newsom in the state of Missouri in the 1850s (McLaurin, 1991). The murder of Newsom took place in the year 1855, which resulted in Celia’s trial in court and
The Sanchez family are riddled with a unique set of problems for a social worker to intervene and provide assistance. Being a family that immigrated to the United States, they are managing many problems within the family that is ranging from disability, substance abuse, and immigration. This paper is a case analysis of each particular family member in the Sanchez family. Each family member will be analyzed and issues will be prioritized. Also, an intervention or a clinical resolution will be introduced to the best of the writer’s knowledge. Lastly, this writer will reflect on herself to determine her level of empathy and sympathy towards each family in the Sanchez family. Each family member is presenting individual problems and indicators that there is an underlying issue that needs intervention.
Celiac disease can be defined as a genetic digestive disease which interferes with the absorption of nutrients. Also known as celiac sprue, when certain grain products are consumed, usually wheat, rye, and barley, it triggers an inflammatory response severely damaging the lining of the small intestine due to a component in grain called gluten. Symptoms can include fatty and frequent stools, either watery or hard stool with an odd odour, cramping anemia, pallor, weight loss, fatigue, and irritability. Interestingly, other symptoms include dermatitis herpetiformis, osteoporosis, infertility, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, and migraine headaches. Treatment options include a complete elimination of wheat, rye, and barley from one’s diet. With this,
Do you have a friend who is allergic to wheat or can’t eat gluten? If so, that is probably because they have Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is caused when the gene “HLA-DQ8” is mutated. This gene is vital to the process of making proteins, so disrupting it leads to celiac disease.
According to The University of Chicago Medicine Celiac Disease Center “Celiac disease affects 1% of healthy, average Americans. That means at least 3 million people in our country are living with celiac disease—97% of them are undiagnosed.” This can be alarming to some people who are not aware of the diseases presence in America. Celiac disease is a rapidly growing disease that more people are being diagnosed with, and a larger amount of people are aware of it. Celiac disease should have more recognition because it is becoming a more widely known disease and people should be educated on what it is and how it can affect the body.
Kirsten Fischer’s essay focuses on how serious slander was taken in the south and how the punishment only worsened when it was interracial. The second essay, written by Jon F. Sensbach, the Moravians of North Carolina and their relationship with slaves. Cynthia Lynn Lyerly chose in her essay to compare how the women and slaves in the Methodist Church saw God with passion to how white men to experience God in a very somber and solemn way. The fourth and final essay in the part was written by Gillespie herself. In it she speaks of Mary Musgrove, a half-Creek half-white woman in Georgia, who was a chief interpreter between England and the Creek. In contrast to the previous parts, Part Four focuses not on the Gulf when it was apart of America; but instead when it was apart of Spain and France. As outlined in all four essays, both women and slaves had greater rights than in England; but this did not entirely make them equal. In the first essay, Juana, a slave belonging to Juan Salom, is faced with charges of infanticide. Upon investigation it is discovered that she was being raped and separated from her children, both being against slavery laws, she is then placed under a less harsh punishment than being hung. The second essay turns the spotlight onto free black women and how they worked in a very limited world to better their life. In contrast, the third essay shows how both slaves and libre women (free black women) would use the law and white men to help their standing; in fact it got to the point where slave owners could no longer free their slaves in order to be with them and the Catholic Church could refuse to recognise marriages of different clas. The final essay of the entire book focuses on Louisiana and how black women affected the
"I am well aware that many will accuse me of indecorum for presenting these pages to the public; for the experiences of this intelligent and much-injured woman belong to a class which some call delicate subjects, and others indelicate. This peculiar phase of Slavery has generally been kept veiled; but the public ought to be made acquainted with its monstrous features, and I willingly take the respon...