Slave Narratives

Slave Narratives

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/enslavement/text6/text6read.htm

One thing that I learned that was very interesting was the sheltering of slaves. The slaves attempted to shield other slaves from the idea of being property while the slaveholder constantly enforced the idea that their only job in life is to be a slave. No matter how much they were told this, however, the slaves always thought that they could do more. In the first link, the girl actually states that her parents sheltered her so much, that, "I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise." Also, I never realized that slaves are not born knowing that their position in life. It makes me think about at what point do they realize they are property. And even at that young age they said they did, do they even know what it means to be property. My assumption is that slaves tend to have to grow up much quicker than we do nowadays, so I think that they would figure out at a fairly young age. The first link actually states that Frederick Douglas realized she was property when she was just a child. Also, I had known about the selective breeding process of the slaves by the slaveholders previously, but the first link opened me up to just how common it was. It makes sense though. I am not saying I agree with it in any way, but if slaves were treated like animals, then they would want the best animal. That being said, I cannot imagine just how truly horrible this is. I don't think anyone today can truly empathizes with just how much they were treated like animals. What was the trigger that made the slaves realize that they were property? Did every slave achieve this concept?

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