The Cruelty of Slavery and Opression in America

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Recommended: How does her work illuminate the gender inequality of the time Harriet Jacobs incidents in the life of a slave girl

A Call for Action
The United States of America is known for its claims of democracy, equality, and freedom for all of it’s citizens. These claims are the foundation of America’s independence and essentially its entire history. But “claims” are simply all they were in history. While many achieved equal democracy and freedom, the African-American population of the US was exempt from these “inalienable rights” and heavily oppressed by society. The cruelty of slavery and oppression as a whole reached its peak in the 19th century bringing upon the abolitionist movement, which eventually aided in the historic removal of slavery and the continued fight for equal right of citizenship for African-Americans. Of the many abolitionists who fought for equality in the 19th century, Angelina Grimke, Frederick Douglass, and Harriett Jacobs stand out as some of the most influential writers and orators of that time. Angelina Grimke was a white southern woman, who abandoned the south with her sister to denounce slavery and began to primarily focus on persuading white women to use what rights they had to act against slavery. Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous abolitionists in United States history. He used his literary expertise as well as his incredible first hand experience as a slave to publicly expose and condemn the evils of slavery. Lastly, but certainly not least, Harriet Jacobs was one of history’s most recognizable African-American writers due to her slave narrative “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, where she exposed the wide array of perverted evils that occurred on plantations and destroyed the lives of many young girls and people in general. Each of these abolitionists were incredibly influential in their own ways but sh...

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...the people of the North to aid in their cause while Jacobs used vivid descriptions of experiences and a sentimental voice to hit home with men and women of the North. These three, like all abolitionists, called for a change, called for help, and called for immediate action to end the enslavement of African-Americans and were without a doubt, essential in the abolitionist movement.

Works Cited

"An Appeal to the Women of the Nominally Free States." Letter to Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. 1837. Women Claim the Right to Act 1836-1837. Seton Hall University Libraries. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July." New York, Rochester. Seton Hall University Libraries. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Jacobs, Harriet A. "The Trials of Girlhood." Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Seton Hall University Libraries. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

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