Learning about history is very important. Although some may think history to be boring and a waste of time I believe that only true historians and other scholars understand its importance. If properly studied and researched history leads as an example of things we should do and those that we should not do. Teaching plays a very integral part in learning about history. Great teachers help to produce the greatest thinkers and scholars. For instance, I think that one of the most important aspects of the United States history is slavery and race relations. And in order to fully grapple with both of those subjects a teacher would need to start from the beginning of America’s existence. There are many books and articles a teacher could choose to use for that purpose, but I think the most important should come from the source directly.
Slavery in the United States was a very horrific practice that whites imposed against blacks. The first African slaves arrived in the America’s in 1502, and were thought to be inferior to the Anglo-Saxon race. Therefore, the harsh treatment that was imposed upon them was thought to be fitting and appropriate. Over the course of the years, and with the settlements of colonies became a more strenuous form of slavery, and that came to be known as plantation slavery. All of those years were important because race relations and slavery were significant to the establishment of the colonies.
The best historical source that I consider to be significant in explaining racial relationships and slavery within the colonies which became the United States of America was a narrative by a slave named Harriet Jacobs called Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl printed in 1861. In her narrative she explains the trials and tribulations slaves went through in their lives. But, her piece was particularly important because it was from a woman’s perspective which before that time had never occurred. She had been born a slave and went through lots of turmoil. Jacobs had written the narrative to “arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse” (Jacobs 440).
Jacobs was born into slavery but was treated very kindly by her mistress. She had taught her to read and treated her well until the day she passed away (447). Jacobs’s situation was unique because she wasn’t aware that she was a slave until her mother passed away when she was a small child. Her father was a carpenter and was allowed to work for others as long as he paid a portion to the mistress. He was a proud man and didn’t think of himself as a slave which was a very dangerous thing to do especially since many of the over seers were jealous of him (450).
Jacobs’s narrative was important during the time that she wrote it because that’s when the abolitionist wanted to involve the women of the North. In January 1, 1861 President Lincoln had declared slavery to be unlawful in the Confederate states (Historyorb.com) and it was imperative, in Jacobs view, that white women of the North really knew how cruel slavery was. She wanted them to be active in the fight for equality and freedom for all people. There was so much going on the year 1861 which helped Jacobs cause, as well as all slaves.
Slavery, especially chattel slavery was very degrading and inhumane that Southern whites participated in. Although Harriet and her younger brother were not exposed to the harsh reality of slavery at a young age they learned about it as they got older. When their mistress passed away they were given to her family. This family, known as the Flint’s was quite different from the previous master. They mistreated their slaves and that included both of the Jacobs children.
It’s important to note here that slavery was very important to the makeup of the South. They literally depended upon the labor provided by the slaves. Even though black people were thought of to be both ignorant and deserving of their plight in life the women were used as concubines. That often made the mistresses of the house extremely violent, rude and jealous of the women (455). Although Jacobs wasn’t a concubine to her master, as he wanted, she did decide to have an affair with another white slave owner to thwart Dr. Flint’s advances. But, this however did not stop his advances it only made him upset with her.
Throughout the course of slavery black women were always sexually exploited by white men, and Jacobs wanted the white women of the North to understand that. Even with the civil war at hand Jacobs needed for the audience to understand that this war was essential to the freedom of people who were mistreated unfairly.
Works Cited Page
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.New York: Penguin Group. 1987. Print.
Yellin, Fagan Jean. Introduction. Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl:Written by Herself. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. 1987. Print
