Different Voices, One Message: Literature as Resistance in the Anti-Slavery Movement
"The pen is mightier than the sword"
The struggle for emancipation was not one which began and ended with the Civil War. African Americans during the period of slavery had very few options left to them regarding their own freedom. The law that held them in slavery could not be trusted to emancipate them. For those who were fortunate enough to have obtained their freedom, the only power they had they had in the abolitionist fight was the power of the written word. African American writers used varying writing styles to carry their message across. Some used pious and moral instruction, others used political exhortation and social prophecy, but all were delivered in a distinctly vintage nineteenth century rhetorical vein which was evocative and powerful.
RESISTANCE THROUGH MORAL AND CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION
Harriet Jacobs and Maria W. Stewart assert that slavery produces deprivation and degradation on its helpless victims. It is a disadvantage to blacks because it robs them of the opportunity for virtue, morality and enlightenment. Jacobs argues that slavery is as much a curse to whites as it is to blacks. She demonstrates this point by showing how the morality of each is corrupted. Stewart in turn affirms that slavery prevents blacks from fulfilling their God-given potential and deprives them from true self-actualization. Both authors' work would have been received by predominantly white abolitionists and it is to this audience that they plead their case.
HARRIET JACOBS
In Harriet Jacobs' autobiography, Incidents In the Life Of a Slave Girl, she asserts that slavery is a curse to the nation and is a factor in the breakdown of the ...
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...b page] Nov 1998; http://www.monticello.org/Matters/people/hemings_resource.html [Accessed 20 Nov 1998].
BOOK REFERENCES:
Douglass, Frederick. "Classic Slave Narratives". Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, N.Y: Penguin Group, 1987. 245-331.
Garnet, Henry Highland. "An Address to the Slaves of the United States of America." The Norton Anthology. Ed. Henry Louis Gates and Nellie Y. Mckay. N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1997. 279-286.
Jacobs, Harriet. "Classic Slave Narrative". Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, N.Y: Penguin Group, 1987. 333-513.
Stewart, Maria W. "Lecture Delivered at the Franklin Hall." The Norton Anthology. Ed. Henry Louis Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1997. 204-207.
Walker, David. (1995). David Walker's Appeal. Canada: Harper Collins.
In Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, personal accounts that detail the ins-and-outs of the system of slavery show readers truly how monstrous and oppressive slavery is. Families are torn apart, lives are ruined, and slaves are tortured both physically and mentally. The white slaveholders of the South manipulate and take advantage of their slaves at every possible occasion. Nothing is left untouched by the gnarled claws of slavery: even God and religion become tainted. As Jacobs’ account reveals, whites control the religious institutions of the South, and in doing so, forge religion as a tool used to perpetuate slavery, the very system it ought to condemn. The irony exposed in Jacobs’ writings serves to show
From before the country’s conception to the war that divided it and the fallout that abolished it, slavery has been heavily engrained in the American society. From poor white yeoman farmers, to Northern abolitionist, to Southern gentry, and apathetic northerners slavery transformed the way people viewed both their life and liberty. To truly understand the impact that slavery has had on American society one has to look no further than those who have experienced them firsthand. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and advocate for the abolitionist, is on such person. Douglass was a living contradiction to American society during his time. He was an African-American man, self-taught, knowledgeable, well-spoken, and a robust writer. Douglass displayed a level of skill that few of his people at the time could acquire. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass captivated the people of his time with his firsthand accounts into the horror and brutality that is the institution of slavery.
The Mongol Empire was a very powerful which conquered more land in two years than the Romans did in 400 years. Also, they controlled more than eleven million square miles. The Mongols were very important because they created nations like Russia and Korea, smashed the feudal system and created international law, and created the first free trade zone. In the beginning of the Mongol Empire, they mostly lived in foothills bordering the Siberian forests mixing heroing and hunting. They also became really good at archery and riding horses. The main reason the Mongols came to be so powerful was all because of a man named Genghis Kahn. Genghis was born around 1162 with the name Temujin. Due to the death of his father, Temujin was left under the control of his older brothers. Soon enough, he was married to a woman named Borte. Borte was later kidnapped, in which Temujin proved his military skills when saving her. Not to long after this, Temujin became the leader of his tribe. Yet, to unite the Mongol confederations it required a civil war, which Temijun ended up winning. After proving his skills and loyalty, Temijun was declared the Gr...
Douglass, Frederick. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987.
...edge. In his narrative, Douglass layers the many brutal, cruel, inhumane, and true components of slavery in his life, underlying each story with a political motive and relation. This method of writing was for his audience removed from slavery, those ignorant of slavery, uninformed, misunderstood, and those who were fortunate to have freedom. Douglass illustrates living conditions, experiences, tragedies, and struggles to great depths. Everywhere, African Americans escaped the binds of slavery due to Frederick Douglass' determination. He revolutionized America, being one of the greatest leaders of the abolition, being the reason for so many freed lives, and leading to the complete abolition and illegality of slavery in America.
More than a century ago, being diagnosed or being born with visual impairment meant one was condemned to a life of disability, confinement and a feeling of being alone. The visually impaired people have had minimal chances of living an ordinary life and achieving their goals over the past few decades. The visually impaired people face many challenges in their attempts to receive the much-needed education or to even get employment in order to survive in this world. In the last one hundred years, numerous changes have been implemented to improve the way the visually impaired community live their lives and to also increase the number of opportunities made available to them. These changes include new legislations, change in perception of the visually
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.
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: New American Library, 1987. 243-331.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &
In conclusion, women were considered property and slave holders treated them as they pleased. We come to understand that there was no law that gave protection to female slaves. Harriet Jacob’s narrative shows the true face of how slaveholders treated young female slave. The female slaves were sexually exploited which damaged them physically and psychologically. Furthermore it details how the slave holder violated the most sacred commandment of nature by corrupting the self respect and virtue of the female slave. Harriet Jacob writes this narrative not to ask for pity or to be sympathized but rather to show the white people to be aware of how female slaves constantly faced sexual exploitation which damaged their body and soul.
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Professor David Hennessy, 1845.
Like previously stated Genghis Khan was one of the world's greatest rulers to live. Through his struggle for power, which began at a young age, his political and military achievements, and his many conquests that conclusively led to the largest empire ever known to man, Genghis Khan is surely regarded as one of the greats. Such a superb empire could never have been formed without visionary leadership, great organizational skills, the most resilient cavalry ever known to man, an army of outstanding archers and last, but certainly not least an overflowing amount of devastation and havoc. The legacy of Genghis Khan, his sons, and grandsons is one of cultural development, artistic achievement, and of course an entire continent being united under "Mongolian Peace."
To know what it takes to be a critical or creative thinker you first need to know exactly what critical and creative thinking is. Cilone, (2017) describes creative thinking as “a process to develop ideas that are unique, useful and worthy of further elaboration. Critical Thinking is the process we use to reflect on assess and judge the assumption underlying our own and others ideas and efforts. Critical and Creative thinking are integral to activities that require students to think broadly and deeply using skills, behaviors and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.”