My Life as a Slave

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces "Elisa Thompson" who arrived in New York nearly two months ago, following his escape from a South Carolina slave plantation; he has been asked by local abolitionists to write the story of his life as a slave and of his travels through the Underground Railroad. The author creatively writes about Thompson's hypothetical life in the Old South including his family, religious practices, employment and the treatment of him and his brothers and sisters at the hands of their masters and mistresses. The paper includes information about the relationships of masters and mistresses with their slave, their procedures for maintaining order and discipline and the expectations of slaves in the Old South.

From the Paper:

"Upon arriving in Charleston, we were released from our bonds in order for potential bidders to examine our bodies for physical fitness. During this humiliation, the bidder was allowed to feel our bodies, remove our clothing, and even to check for castration or sexual abuse. It was during one of these moments I escaped. As bidders began to argue with a young black next to me, many of the whites in the area leaped to stop an angry mob as the black slaves began to rebel against the humiliation. During the commotion, I walked slowly out of the small, shabby building, and began to make my way carefully through the fields to the outskirts."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alabama Narratives, Vol. 6, of The American Slave: A Composite Biography, ed. George Rawick. Westport, Conn, 1972), pt. 1, 319-352.
• Blassingame, John. The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. New York, Quill Press, 1972.
• Dusinberre, William. Them Dark Days: Slavery in the American Rice Swamps. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• "Gullah and Barbadian: Origins and Relationships." American Speech, 55 (1) (1980), 14-25.
• Hope, John, and Moss, Alfred. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1994.

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