African American Voices A Documentary Reader, 1619-1877

by Mintz, Steven

• ISBN13: 9781405182676
• ISBN10: 1405182679
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-02-24
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

A succinct, up-to-date overview of the history of slavery that places American slavery in comparative perspective. Provides students with more than 70 primary documents on the history of slavery in America Includes extensive excerpts from slave narratives, interviews with former slaves, and letters by African Americans that document the experience of bondage Comprehensive headnotes introduce each selection A Visual History chapter provides images to supplement the written documents Includes an extensive bibliography and bibliographic essay

Author Biography

Steven Mintz is a member of the History Department and director of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center at Columbia University. His thirteen books include Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life (1988; co-authored with Susan Kellogg); and a major interpretation of antebellum reform, Moralists & Modernizers: America's Pre-Civil War Reformers (1995). His most recent book, Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood , received the Association of American Publishers R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Scholarly Book of 2004; the Organization of American Historians 2004 Merle Curti Award for the best book in social history; and the Texas Institute of Letters Carr P. Collins Award for the best non-fiction book of 2004; it was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in History.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. x
Series Editors' Preface	p. xi
Preface to the New Edition	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
"Death's Gwineter Lay His Cold Icy Hands on Me": Enslavement	p. 40
A European Slave Trader, Describes the African Slave Trade (1682)	p. 42
A Muslim Merchant, Recalls His Capture and Enslavement (1733)	p. 45
An Employee of Britain's Royal African Company Describes the Workings of the Slave Trade (1738)	p. 48
Olaudah Equiano, an II-Year-Old Ibo from Nigeria, Remembers His Kidnapping into Slavery (1789)	p. 49
A Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park, Offers a Graphic Account of the African Slave Trade (1797)	p. 51
Venture Smith Relates the Story of His Kidnapping at the Age of Six (1798)	p. 52
"God's A-Gwineter Trouble de Water": The Middle Passage and Arrival	p. 57
A European Slave Trader, Describes a Shipboard Revolt by Enslaved Africans (1700)	p. 59
Olaudah Equiano, Who Was Born in Eastern Nigeria, Describes the Horrors of the Middle Passage (1789)	p. 62
A Doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes Conditions on an English Slaver (1788)	p. 65
Olaudah Equiano Describes His Arrival in the New World (1789)	p. 70
An English Physician, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes the Treatment of Newly Arrived Slaves in the West Indies (1788)	p. 71
"A Change is Gonna Come": Slavery in the Era of the American Revolution	p. 74
The Poet Phillis Wheatley Writes about Freedom and Equal Rights (1774)	p. 75
Massachusetts Slaves Petition for Freedom (1774)	p. 76
Virginia's Royal Governor Promises Freedom to Slaves Who Join the British Army (1775)	p. 78
Virginia's Assembly Denounces Lord Dunmore's Proclamation (1775)	p. 79
Connecticut Slaves Petition for Freedom (1779)	p. 80
Boston King, a Black Loyalist, Seeks Freedom Behind British Lines (1798)	p. 82
A Participant in Gabriel's Rebellion Explains Why He Took Part in the Attempted Insurrection (1812)	p. 84
Gabriel's Brother Explains the Rebellion's Objectives (1800)	p. 84
President Tries to Arrange for the Deportation of Men Involved in Gabriel's Rebellion (1802)	p. 85
"We Raise de Wheat, Dey Gib Us de Corn": Conditions of Life	p. 87
A Free Black Kidnapped from New York, Solomon Northrup, Describes the Working Conditions of Slaves on a Louisiana Cotton Plantation (1853)	p. 88
a Slave in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia, Compares Working Conditions on Tobacco and Cotton Plantations (1858)	p. 89
a Maryland Slave, Describes Slave Housing, Diet, and Clothing (1877)	p. 91
Who Was a Slave near Washington, D.C., Describes Living Conditions Under Slavery (1856)	p. 93
A South Carolina Slave, Recalls the Material Conditions of Slave Life (1898)	p. 94
A Former Virginia Slave, Remembers a Slave Auction (1937)	p. 95
Born into Slavery in Virginia, Describes a Slave Sale (1868)	p. 96
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen": Visual History of Slavery	p. 98
The Inspection and Sale of an African Captive Along the West African Coast (1854)	p. 99
An Illustration of the Layout of a Slave Ship (1807)	p. 100
Enslaved Africans on the Deck of a Slave Ship (1860)	p. 102
Two Slave Sale Advertisements (1859, c.1780s)	p. 103
A Fugitive Slave Advertisement (1774)	p. 105
An Illustration of a Slave Auction at Richmond, Virginia (1856)	p. 107
Five Generations of a Slave Family (c.1850s)	p. 108
An Engraving Illustrating Nat Turner's Insurrection (c.1831)	p. 109
A Plantation Manual Offers Detailed Instructions to Overseers about How They Are to Treat Nursing Mothers (1857-1858)	p. 110
African Americans in Baltimore Celebrate the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, Extending the Vote to Black Men (1870)	p. 111
"O Mother Don't You Weep": Women, Children, and Families	p. 114
Describes Her Efforts to Escape Verbal, Physical, and Sexual Abuse (1861)	p. 115
Describes How She Aborted a Slave Sale (1889)	p. 119
Escapes to Freedom During the Civil War (1902)	p. 121
Recalls the Formative Experiences of His Childhood (1898)	p. 123
Pennington Analyzes the Impact of Slavery upon Childhood (1849)	p. 126
Describes the Moment When He First Recognized the Meaning of Slavery (1842)	p. 128
Learns that Her Husband, Who Had Been Sold Away, Has Taken Another Wife (1869)	p. 130
An Overseer Attempts to Rape Mother (1877)	p. 132
Discusses the Impact of Slavery on Family Life (1846)	p. 135
"Go Home to My Lord and Be Free": Religion	p. 138
from Eastern Nigeria, Describes West African Religious Beliefs and Practices (1789)	p. 139
a Slave in Maryland, Remembers a Slave Funeral, which Incorporated Traditional African Customs (1837)	p. 142
a Former Virginia Slave, Describes the Religious Gatherings Slaves Held Outside of Their Masters' Supervision (1893)	p. 142
Who Toiled in Slavery in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Discusses "Conjuration" (1849)	p. 145
"Oppressed So Hard They Could Not Stand": Punishment	p. 148
a Fugitive Slave from Maryland, Describes the Circumstances that Prompted Masters to Whip Slaves (1845)	p. 149
of Virginia Describes a Lashing She Received (1868)	p. 150
Born into Slavery in Virginia, Has Bells and Horns Fastened on His Head (1855)	p. 152
a Missouri Slave Driver, Is Tied Up in a Smokehouse (1847)	p. 153
a Slave in Georgia and the Carolinas, Is Punished for Attempting to Run Away (1837)	p. 154
A Kentucky Slave, Describes the Implements His Mistress Used to Beat Him (1846)	p. 155
"Let My People Go": Resistance and Flight	p. 157
Resists a Slave Breaker (1845)	p. 158
a Baptist Preacher in Virginia, Describes His Revolt Against Slavery (1831)	p. 163
a Former Maryland Slave, Sneaks into the South to Free Slaves (1872)	p. 167
Life and Methods for Liberating Slaves (1863, 1865)	p. 169
the "President" of the Underground Railroad, Assists Fugitives to Escape Slavery (1876)	p. 172
A Maryland Slave, Follows the North Star to Freedom (1879)	p. 174
Borrows a Sailor's Papers to Escape Slavery (1855, 1895)	p. 177
Henry "Box" Brown of Virginia Escapes Slavery in a Sealed Box (1872)	p. 179
a Fugitive Slave from Kentucky, Kills Her Daughter Rather Than See Her Returned to Slavery (1876)	p. 181
"The Walls Came Tumblin' Down": Emancipation	p. 184
the Mother of a Black Soldier, Pleads with President Abraham Lincoln Not to Rescind the Emancipation Proclamation (1863)	p. 185
Private Thomas Long Assesses the Meaning of Black Military Service During the Civil War (1870)	p. 186
Cherry Appeals for Equal Opportunity for Former Slaves (1865)	p. 187
a former Tennessee Slave, Declines His Former Master's Invitation to Return to His Plantation (1865)	p. 188
Major General Rufus Saxon Assesses the Freedmen's Aspirations (1866)	p. 190
Describes the Attitudes of Ex-Confederates Toward the Freedmen (1865)	p. 191
of South Carolina Asks for Land for the Freedmen (1868)	p. 192
The Rev. Is Attacked by the Ku Klux Klan (1872)	p. 193
a Former Arkansas Slave, Describes Sharecropping (1937)	p. 194
Assesses the Condition of the Freedmen (1880)	p. 195
Bibliographical Essay	p. 198
Bibliography	p. 204
Index	p. 236
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.