LITR
4232: American Renaissance
University
of Houston-Clear Lake, spring 2002
Index to Student Research Projects
Candy
Berry
Dr. White
Literature 4232
18 April 2002
Journal:
American Slavery, Slaves, and Narratives
Introduction
Abolition
of slavery was a very long, painful, weary, process for the unfortunate human
beings that were owned as slaves. These men, women, and children were
treated like possessions and not as human beings. There were many
different types of people fighting for the abolition of slavery. Many of
these people were authors of literature. Many of these authors aided in
the process of abolishing slavery. Their role was quite important in this
process because they were able to produce material that sent a powerful message
to all of their readers of the importance of this issue. These
authors often wrote true accounts of people that had been involved in the
horrifying act of slavery. These accounts contained stories about slaves
as well as slave owners. The impact of many of these works of
literature was amazing. Two authors who played an important role in this
movement were, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.
The following journal contains historical information as well as examples of the
works of these two authors. The journal will review some of the most
important works of literature that these authors produced on the topic of
slavery. The journal will also contain the review of a website on
abolition as well as reviews from secondary sources on these authors. The
goal I hope to reach by producing this journal is to show the important role
that these authors of literature played in the abolition of slavery.
Abolitionist
Movement
In the early 1800’s the
south ‘s cotton production was booming. This was one of the main reasons
there was such high demand for slaves. The more cotton that was produced,
the higher the demand for slaves. Eventually, more and more people began
to began to oppose slavery. This opposition became known as the
Abolitionist Movement of the 1800’s. (http://www.abolition.html) There
were many accounts where people were jailed or killed for aiding the escape of
slaves from the south. Although some abolitionists were violent and
aggressive, there were those who were not. Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd
Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln are a few examples of
non-aggressive abolitionist leaders. The route these leaders chose to take
in their stand against slavery was through public speeches and literature.
An abundance of this literature is still being read today.
One type of literature that seemed to be quite effective during the abolitionist
movement was through newspapers and pamphlets. According to George
Fredrickson, author of, Great Lives Observed, William Lloyd Garrison,
Garrison worked for six different papers, often acting as co-editor or
editor of these papers. The most well known paper was his own creation,
the Liberator. Garrison was quite outspoken and adament in his articles
concerning his stand against slavery. He was even jailed at one time
due to an article he wrote. However this did not stop him from becoming a
leader in the abolitionist movement. Many people, upon reading his paper,
became supporters of the abolitionist movement. William Lloyd Garrison
made a great contribution to end slavery and he will be a name that will be
recognized and honored for many years to come.
One
of the greatest writers during the abolitionist movement was Frederick Douglass.
He wrote an autobiography that touched the lives of many people. He
wrote about his own life as a slave and how he became a free man. Douglass
also let his voice be heard at many of the anti-slavery conventions. One
of Douglass’ heros was none other than William Lloyd Garrison. Douglass
read his paper daily and was ecstatic to hear him speak at an anti-slavery
convention. (Russell, 11-12) Upon hearing Douglass speak at one of these
conventions, the tables seemed to be turned, because Garrison immediately became
a fan of Douglass’. Douglass touched the lives of many
people, black and white, who lived in the midst of the abolitionist movement as
well as those of us who read his literature today.
Many
other great people spoke out against slavery during this movement. Some of
these people were women such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet
Beecher Stowe. Harriet Tubman led the organization known as the
Underground Railroad. This organization helped slaves escape from the
south to free states in the north. Harriet risked her life many times
aiding these slaves to freedom. However, like most of the great
abolitionist leaders, she did not give up. Sojourner Truth was another
outspoken woman during this time. She tells her life story in an
autobiography edited by Olive Gilbert. Sojourner Truth related her life
stories to Gilbert and Gilbert wrote the book because Truth was illiterate.
Even though Truth was very outspoken, she was known to be kind and gentle.
Her statement, "Lord, Lord, I can love even de white folk!", (www.rlc.dccd.edu),
proves her kind and gentle nature.
Abraham
Lincoln was a political figure that supported the abolitionist movement. Many
people have said that his motives were political and not for the betterment of
humans in our country. In The Health Anthology of American Literature,
Elaine Apthorp states; "He was quick and resourceful in appeasing the
conflicting interests of his constituents--as ready to paint himself a defender
of segregation as of universal liberty…" (Lauter, 2007). Whether
his intentions were political or genuine, he was a leader in the abolitionist
movement. He will always be remembered for freeing the slaves.
There
were many great writers during the abolitionist movement that made their voices
heard to the people of this nation. Some women, some men, some black and
some white. All of these people aided in abolishing slavery in one way or
another. Thanks to these people, our fellow members of the human race with
black skin, are free to live as humans should. They are not treated as a
possesion or an animal thanks to these great abolitionist leaders. There
are many more great abolitionist leaders not mentioned in this journal. Let
us dare not forget about or fail to honor each and everyone of them. Whether
white or black, these were people of great integrity, honor, courage, and
determination.
Thanks
to them, slavery has been abolished!
Abolition and Slavery Website
The following is a website which is an awesome resource for anyone needing
information on slavery and the abolition of slavery. This website address
is: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/elw25/new.htm. This website
contains links to many different websites with a multitude of information on
slavery and the abolitionist movement. The links on this website have
information such as the following; pamphlets written by African-American’s and
other authors pertaining to slavery, laws about slavery, and many more issues
about slavery; sheet music with songs about slavery; online anthology of slave
narratives; reports of slavery trials; and much more.
The
entire list of links are very helpful and contain some wonderful information and
interesting stories about issues of slavery. Many of the great authors of
literature about slavery and the abolition of slavery can be found through this
one website. It is a wonderful place to begin research on this topic.
Many things can be printed off of this website and its links that will be
helpful to anyone researching slavery.
One
of the great things about this website is that it contains links to modern
pieces of literature on the abolition of slavery as well as historical authors
and pieces of literature. I definitely recommend this site as a useful
tool to research slavery and the many authors who wrote about slavery.
Review of Secondary Source
Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist Editor, written by Sharman Apt Russell, is
an excellent resource containing much information about Frederick Douglass.
This book contains information on about his birth, his life as a slave,
his life after fleeing from slavery, and most importantly about his life as a
writer.
This book begins with the facts about the meeting held in Nantucket by the
members of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass joined the
society and eventually became a traveling speaker for them. This
particular meeting in Nantucket was the first time he spoke for them. William
Coffin, one of the abolitionist speakers asked him to speak at the meeting.
According to Russell, "Coffin had heard Douglass speak in church and
was impressed by the intelligent, self-educated ex-slave" (12). Russell
reports that William Lloyd Garrison attended this meeting and later wrote this:
"most fortunate occurrence … Fortunate, for the cause of Negro
emancipation, and of universal liberty" (15). This is one
example of the impact that Douglass has made for the abolition of slavery.
Russell
then moves on to talk about the life that Frederick lived as a slave. She
gives some information about his childhood and how he was separated from his
mother and sent to live with his grandmother. The only thing he knew about
his father was that he was white and that the master of the plantation where he
lived was really his father. However, this was only rumor and was never
confirmed.
This
chapter also tells of the account when he was only six years old and separted
from his grandmother, having been bought into slavery. Russell writes a
quote from one of Fredrick’s later writings which was; "this was my first
introduction to the realities of the slave system" (19). Russell
gives quite a bit of information about Frederick’s life as a slave. She
writes that he seemed luckier than some of the other slaves because he seemed to
be well liked by everyone, including his owners (20). The end of this
chapter gives the account of Douglass’s escape from slavery.
The
rest of Russell’s book contains an abundance of information on Douglass’s
life as a free man. She gives accounts of his struggles as a free man to
make in a "white man’s world". He faced many trials and
tribulations throughout his life. However, as Russell writes in her book,
he became extremely involved in the abolitionist movement and produced some
great works of literature on the subject throughout the remainder of his life.
Review of Secondary Source
The Abolitionists, A Collection Of Their Writings , written by Louis
Ruchames, is an excellent source for studying abolitionist writers. The
book begins with an excellent introduction written by Ruchames. The
introduction gives a brief history of the aboltionist movement. Ruchames
gives information about the American Convention for Promoting the Abolition of
Slavery and Improving the Condition of the African Race. He tells of
it’s history before, during, and after the abolitionist movement. This
convention played a very important role in this movement and Ruchames writes of
its significance. He then moves on in his introduction stating the names
of the writers he uses in his book and gives a brief history of these great
authors.
The
entire book is full of speeches, letters, articles, and stories, written by many
abolitionists throughout history. Many of these pieces of literature were
written by well known writers such as William Lloyd Garrison, President Lincoln,
and John Greenleaf Whittier. Other pieces were written by Negro
abolitionists, which were quite effective in the abolitionist movement.
This book is an excellent source for studying the history of the abolitionist
movement as well as authors, and speakers from this time in our history. It
contains extremely moving pieces about abolition of slavery and can be a very
useful piece of information about this movement.
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a very influential man in the abolitionist
movement. He was quite outspoken with his views on the abolition of
slavery. The main approach he had for making his views known to the public
was through his paper, The Liberator. Another approach that Garrison took
was to speak at many of the conventions that were formed to aid in the abolition
of slavery. His life reflected on how important the abolitionist movement
was to him. Even though Garrison had many supporters, he often met with
opposition. However, this did not dissuade him from continuing his fight
for the abolition of slavery.
In George M. Fredrickson’s book, Great Lives Observed, William Lloyd Garrison,
he states that Garrison was working as a reform journalist. Fredrickson
states that these types of journalists became popular, "…as a result of
the rise of a variety of benevolent societies and of crusades for human
betterment" (1). He eventually met a man named Benjamin Lundy and
became the editor for Lundy’s paper which was called, The Genius of Universal
Emancipation. (1) The name of this paper makes it quite obvious the
stand these men took on emancipating the slaves. This marks the
beginning of Garrison’s involvement in the abolitionist movement.
Garrison
was eventually jailed for a statement he made in the paper accusing a ship owner
of a wrongdoing towards a slave. When Garrison was released from jail, he
began his own newspaper, The Liberator. (2) He was determined to make a
public stand against slavery through his paper. The opening statement in
his first issue of the Liberator became quite famous. This is what
Fredrickson states about it: "It shocked many by its severity and
forthrightness and became the most famous and widely quoted utterance of
Garrison’s career" (22). When reading this address, one can see the
determination felt by Garrison about the issue of abolition by the use of his
language. He said things like, "Let southern oppressors
tremble…" , …let all the enemies of the persecuted blacks
tremble", "I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as
justice", and "I am in earnest---I will not equivocate---I will not
excuse---I will not retreat a single inch---AND I WILL BE HEARD" (22-23).
Garrison kept these promises and did not back down, no matter how harsh
the opposition.
Even
though Garrison was quite harsh with his words, he was against violence. Walter
M. Merrill states in his biography of Garrison, Against Wind And Tide,
"Nonresistance was a principle which he maintained with stern persistence
in spite of his own instinctive belligerence as a publicist" (269),
An online encyclopedia states that even though Garrison was physically attacked
by a mob, he still did not promote violence. (http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0820261.html)
Aside from his publications in the Liberator, Garrison also wrote a book in 1832
called Thoughts on African Colonization. Garrison was very much
against colonizing the slaves. He believed in complete emancipation for
the slaves. (Fredrickson, 2) Fredrickson states that in this book,
Garrison, "…berated the colonization’s as being, at best, men of little
faith and, at worst, covert supporters of slavery" (2). Fredrickson
notes that event though Garrison was not the first to speak out against
colonization that he was the first person to actually make an impression. (2)
Garrison’s
contribution to the abolition of slavery was extremely important and beneficial
to the movement. He not only wrote many famous articles in his paper and
gave many famous speeches on abolition, he also helped to organize the New
England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slave Society. His
influence on the abolition movement was something that our history will always
remember and honor him for.
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was a man full of determination, strength, bravery, and
integrity. He is one of the greatest abolitionist writers of his time.
His writings are still being read today. Not only are they still
being read, they are still as moving to his readers today as they were to the
people who lived in the midst of the abolitionist movement. Douglass gives
accounts in his writings, not only of slaves, but of the slave owners. He
gives his readers both sides of the stories, at times even showing sympathy for
the slave owners. This is one of the many reasons that his works are so
moving to the human soul.
Frederick
Douglass was a slave himself, and gives striking accounts of his life as a slave
in many of his writings. Douglass escaped from slavery in his early
twenties and soon after his escape, began speaking at many anti-slavery
conventions as well as writing slave narratives. (Russell, 11) His hero
was the well-known abolitionist and editor of the Liberator, William Lloyd
Garrison. According to James A. Miller, a writer in the, Health Anthology of
American Literature, Douglass "…read the Liberator religiously…"
(1814-1815). He also states that; "…Douglass was electrified when
he heard Garrison speak for the first time…" (1815). While
attending a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in Nantucket,
Douglass was asked to speak to the group. He was not very confident but he
gave a very moving speech and was asked after the meeting to become a traveling
speaker for the society. (Russell 11) This began his career as a speaker
and a writer for the abolitionist movement.
One of the most amazing achievements of Douglass was the fact that he taught
himself how to read and write. This makes reading his works even more
enjoyable. Knowing that the horrendous experience of being owned as a
slave, did not keep him from educating himself, makes his literature more
real and honorable.
The
most famous piece of literature written by Frederick Douglass was his
autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.
According to Russell, this book became a bestseller almost immediately.
(45) In this autobiography, Douglass wrote everything about his life as a
slave. As Russell states; "he set down all the facts--the actual
names of the people and places connected with his years in slavery" (44).
He was told by a companion to "…throw it in the fire before he was
shipped back to Maryland" (Russell, 44). Of course Douglass refused.
He wanted people to hear what he had to say whether that meant being sent
back to slavery or not. His autobiography is a very touching account of
the life he led as a slave. He wrote about the slaveholders as well as the
slave. One very striking statement he made about one slaveholder was this;
"He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. He was called by
the slaves a good overseer" (Lauter, 1829). This statement shows what
an amazing man Douglass was. Even though he was whipped by this man, he
saw him as a good man. This autobiography has no doubt touched the lives
of many who have read it, including me.
At
the end of Douglass’ autobiography he wrote a poem called "A
Parody". According to the footnote, this poem was a parody on a
popular hymn sung in Southern churches. (Lauter, 1879) The poem is quite
moving, talking about the hideous acts the slaveholders committed, yet these
same men talked of Christ and Heavenly Union. The third stanza of this
poem seems to sum up all of the hypocrisy of these evil men. It says this;
They’ll loudly talk of Christ’s reward,
And bind his image with a cord
And scold, and swing the lash abhorred,
And sell their brother in the Lord
To handcuffed heavenly union. (16-20)
The last statement that Douglass makes in his book is this;
"Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something
toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day
of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds -- faithfully relying
upon the power of truth, love, and justice, for success in my humble efforts --
and solemnly pledging my self anew to the sacred cause, -- I subscribe
myself,…" (Lauter, 1880).
This
closing statement is so full of the feeling in his heart about the abolition of
slavery. It proves once again, the man of integrity and honor that he was.
This statement is not full of hatred and anger, it is just full of his
emotion directed towards his fellow humans. These are the types of
statements throughout his entire autobiography that have touched so many lives,
white or black.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I have learned a great deal while working on this journal.
I have been reminded of the way our fellow humans were treated as slaves.
It makes me feel extremely sad, ashamed, and shocked. I am also
extremely happy that owning a slave has been abolished! The stories of the
people that I studied for this journal, especially the autobiographical
narratives, touched me deep in my soul. It amazes me that these writers
can still touch us so deeply even today, many years later.
The determination and courage that many of these abolitionist leaders had to
stand up and speak out for something they believed in gives me encouragement to
do the same thing. Often, we are afraid to be "different" and
speak out against the majority. However, reading the accounts of these
great leaders in our history, should give everyone of us the strength and
courage to stand up for what is right or what we believe in. If these
brave men and women had not been so courageous, we might still see humans being
treated as possessions and animals today. Thank God these people let their
voices be heard!
If I were to continue this research, I would write about the many other great
abolitionist leaders that were not talked about in this journal. I would
like to research more heavily the laws that were passed during this time
concerning slavery. I feel that these laws probably made a difference at
times as to whether some publicly spoke out against slavery or whether they kept
their voices hidden.
Works Cited
Fredrickson, George M., ed. Great Lives Observed, William Lloyd Garrison. New
Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
Lauter, Paul, ed. The Health Anthology of American Literature. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Merrill, Walter M., Against Wind And Tide. Massachusetts: Harvard
University Press, 1963.
Ruchames, Louis, The Abolitionists, A Collection Of Their Writings. New
York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1963.
Russell, Sharman Apt, Black Americans of Achievement, Frederick Douglass. New
York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
Internet Sources:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0820261.html
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/elw25/new.htm
http://www.rlc.dcccd.edu/annex/COMM/english/mah8420/Reformers.htm
http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/abolition.html