American Slavery

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses American slavery after the Civil War. It particularly focuses on it from the point of view of the freed slaves. The paper suggests that the slave experience in the United States did not change significantly after the Civil War, rather expectations and expected experiences among former slaves remained similar to those they held during slavery. The paper explains the reasons behind these expectations and conditions for former slaves after the Civil War.

From the Paper:

"Slaves, prior to the Civil War, were under complete control of the white authority. These conditions forced a poor quality of life and even obscene treatment towards them. The life of Charles Ball and the sequence of events he had to overcome because of his race is evidence of the conditions existing for African-Americans both prior to and after the Civil War (Ball 1859). Ball documented his life beginning with his father's capture from Africa and subsequent enslavement. As a slave, Ball was separated from his Mother at a young age and eventually from his wife as he was sold to Georgia while she lived in Maryland. This reflects the complete lack of disregard for slave family life which was a characteristic of the slave experience in America. Also in Georgia, Ball was treated with extreme cruelty, yet he could do nothing about it except possibly to escape. Furthermore, Ball was able to escape captivity, twice, and even as a freeman buy his own farm. Yet eventually he and his wife were capture into slavery, reflecting on the nature of the laws towards their treatment of African-Americans. Even freemen were not safe from trouble in the culture in which African-American's were subordinate. Ball maintains that "misery loves company" and that he is a subject to "mutual sufferings," (Ball 277) indicating the conditions he feels exist as a slave. Ultimately, Charles Ball's experience is illustrative of the conditions that exist to slaves, as even when he becomes a freeman he is not entirely free."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ball, Charles. Fifty Years in Chains. New York, NY: H. Dayton, Publisher, 1859.
• Bayliss, John F. Black Slave Narratives. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1970.
• Bland, Sterling Lecater, Ed. African American Slave Narratives. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001.
• Bontemps, Arna, Ed. Great Slave Narratives. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1969.
• Parent, Anthony S. The Formation of a Slave Society in Virginia, 1660-1740. Chapel Hill & London: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

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• Book Review # 133310 : "American Slavery, American Freedom": A Book Review"
• Book Review # 103880 : "Morgan's "American Slavery, American Freedom"
• Analytical Essay # 131151 : "The Gender Factor in American Slavery"
• Analytical Essay # 131228 : "Females in American Slavery"

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