Essay On Isaac Maso

In May of 1822, Isaac Mason was born a slave to the state of Maryland. By 1847, he was a “free” man. He wrote his narrative in 1893 which included his experiences in and out of slavery. He discussed his hardships, adventures, and conflicts while he was still enslaved; and he also described his encounters when he was “free.” For example, while he still had a master (Mr. Mansfield), he was ambushed by Mansfield’s friend, Mr. H. Wallace, and his son. Mason had been sent there to complete a task, and while he was on his way to leave, he was attacked by Wallace and his son. When he was “free,” he settled down in Delaware and found a wife; but, eventually, he had to flee due to the Fugitive Slave Law. The question that if there is a difference between being enslaved and not being enslaved (from a black American’s perspective) is evident within the title itself: “Life of Isaac …show more content…
A focus will be on societies with slaves and how societies viewed these slaves. How people viewed the slaves (especially people with power) may have had an effect on how a former slave viewed the concept of freedom. Two of the resources, “The Whole North is Not Abolitionized” and “Psychohistory and Slavery: Preliminary Issues,” are peer-reviewed secondary resources. Other secondary sources that are being utilized include: “The Constituent Elements of Slavery,” “Using the Testimony of Ex-Slaves: Approaches and Problems,” and “Fugitive Slaves in the U.S.” The primary source that the paper will emphasize is “Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave.” These sources should provide a feel of an American culture that included slavery, and how the popular culture felt about slavery and black Americans. Other sources may be used to arrive at a conclusion, but these sources will be the more important ones that could get the principal point