Slavery and the reconstruction era were two large portions in American history that contained minimal written records. How can historians learn about these slaves and their account of slavery and emancipation? Slave masters held a tight grip on power over their slaves by kept their slaves illiterate. Originally only whites had letters, diaries, and first hand accounts about this peculiar institution. The rise of oral testimony gave the slaves, who had the courage to speak up, the opportunity to speak out against the horrors of living from the bottom of the rail.
As historians started their research into slavery, the only accounts they had were that of the literate slave masters. With this lack of evidence a major amount of bias information surfaced. As the North’s army drove deeper into the South during the civil war, they came across countless slave plantations. The written accounts by these soldiers were all used in historian research but there was huge empty void where the actual slaves point of view should be. Whether it is due to lack of literacy or years of taught fear, but the African American first person written …show more content…
During an interview with experienced writer, Samuel S. Taylor, a former Georgia slave woman said, “I’ve told you too much. How come they want to know all this stuff,” and he found himself constantly having to reassure the safety of his interviewees (182). This fear surpassed the end of slavery, and violent discrimination is the threat to African American society. Now even though some slaves stated their masters were not as horrid as others, many of the faced extreme horrors. “W’en any slave wus whipped all de other slaves was made to watch . . . I hade some terribly bad experiences. (191)” This would explain the deep mental walls built up around disobedience, and why many slaves would only share some stories or not at
As historians started their research into slavery, the only accounts they had were that of the literate slave masters. With this lack of evidence a major amount of bias information surfaced. As the North’s army drove deeper into the South during the civil war, they came across countless slave plantations. The written accounts by these soldiers were all used in historian research but there was huge empty void where the actual slaves point of view should be. Whether it is due to lack of literacy or years of taught fear, but the African American first person written …show more content…
During an interview with experienced writer, Samuel S. Taylor, a former Georgia slave woman said, “I’ve told you too much. How come they want to know all this stuff,” and he found himself constantly having to reassure the safety of his interviewees (182). This fear surpassed the end of slavery, and violent discrimination is the threat to African American society. Now even though some slaves stated their masters were not as horrid as others, many of the faced extreme horrors. “W’en any slave wus whipped all de other slaves was made to watch . . . I hade some terribly bad experiences. (191)” This would explain the deep mental walls built up around disobedience, and why many slaves would only share some stories or not at