The Real Heroes of Slavery in the United States

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As a child in elementary and high school, I was taught that President Abraham Lincoln was the reason that African slaves were freed from slavery. My teachers did not provide much more information than that. For an African American student, I should have received further historical information than that about my ancestors. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity or desire to research slavery on my own until college. And with my eagerness and thirst for more answers concerning my African American history, I set out to console my spirit, knowledge, and self-awareness of my ancestors’ history. I received the answers that my brain, mind, and soul need. Although Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution, courageous African American slaves were the real heroes and motivation of the movement. I want to start with the history of slavery in America. For most African Americans, the journey America began with African ancestors that were kidnapped and forced into slavery. In America, this event was first recorded in 1619. The first documented African slaves that were brought to America were through Jamestown, Virginia. This is historically considered as the Colonial America. In Colonial America, African slaves were held as indentured servants. At this time, the African slaves were released from slavery after a certain number of years of being held in captivity. This period lasted until 1776, when history records the beginning of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage showed the increased of African slaves were bought into America. The increase demand for slaves was because of the increased production of cotton in the south. So, plantation owners demanded more African slaves for purchas... ... middle of paper ... ...ter researching and reading the stories of the famous African slaves free safely, does not provide comfort for my soul of the African slaves that died before 1865. The African slaves may have died by natural causes or by the hands of the slaves’ owners. However, the stories of Nate Turner, the Black Seminoles, Dred Scott, Polly Berry, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and many other famous and not so famous African slaves gave me a since of pride that I am a descendant of an African slave male and female. Moreover, my African American racial heritage did not sit back and wait for Abraham Lincoln to approve outlaw slavery, but the African slaves knew throughout the entire time from 1619 to 1865 that no white man or woman should be allowed to own another man or woman, no matter where the person is originated from or who that person is born from.

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