Historical narratives may be the only way to understand or acquire more knowledge of the daily trials and tribulations of people living during a certain time period. More specifically for American slaves, this is a huge crutch for people to truly get a sense of their lives, culture, and psychological struggles. Fredrick Douglass’s, Narrative of The Life of Fredrick Douglass, and the documentary Slavery in the Making of Americas which focuses on the life of Harriet Jacobs, are two very important narratives for this matter. These accounts give us a view that would otherwise be impossible to understand. They give us another side on the system of slavery, how it changed over time and how it affected an individual. Also it gives us a view of how
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From the very beginning there were laws to abide for the slaves, indentured servants, and slaveholders. These laws, and the conditions which the slaves were kept in were very harsh and unruly. Slaves typically were treated worse than animals. Though over time there were minimal changes morally for the people in power, there were governmental law shifting. Such like the laws enacted to ban the harsh punishments of slaves and in some place the abolishment of slavery. Also the first laws to actually include slaves in the voting and citizen count for seats in the House. Though only 3/5 of the total slave population was counted, this was a huge change and step compared to the years prior. Furthermore, we learned the differences of gender roles in the slave industry. Traditional gender roles dictated that the man has to be strong, and somewhat unemotional, even being superior to women. Women on the other hand were to be a mans left hand. However, in slavery, for the most part men and women were treated equally. One example could be the punishments of the slaves such as the violent whippings and poor living conditions because they were shared by bot male and females. Because of the fact that this experience was all around devastating, the experiences for men and women were both
From the very beginning there were laws to abide for the slaves, indentured servants, and slaveholders. These laws, and the conditions which the slaves were kept in were very harsh and unruly. Slaves typically were treated worse than animals. Though over time there were minimal changes morally for the people in power, there were governmental law shifting. Such like the laws enacted to ban the harsh punishments of slaves and in some place the abolishment of slavery. Also the first laws to actually include slaves in the voting and citizen count for seats in the House. Though only 3/5 of the total slave population was counted, this was a huge change and step compared to the years prior. Furthermore, we learned the differences of gender roles in the slave industry. Traditional gender roles dictated that the man has to be strong, and somewhat unemotional, even being superior to women. Women on the other hand were to be a mans left hand. However, in slavery, for the most part men and women were treated equally. One example could be the punishments of the slaves such as the violent whippings and poor living conditions because they were shared by bot male and females. Because of the fact that this experience was all around devastating, the experiences for men and women were both