Slavery In Daniel Black's 'The Coming'

In 1886, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves in states that rebelled against the Union. Because of this, we praise him like a god; Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves!! But what our history teachers fail to mention is the motive behind that act of injustice. Lincoln didn't free the slaves because he loved friend chicken and watermelon, he freed the slaves in hopes of political and economic unity between the union and confederacy. He freed the slaves after 200 years of enslavement, thank you Lincoln. But prior to the difference amongst many slave countries, they all share one similarity, the middle passage. Daniel Black discusses the horror and encounters during the middle passage in the book The Coming. “With open arms, we embraced those who looked nothing like us, assuming all life honors life. We were wrong.” (Black 13). This infamous quote from his book is what I like to classify as the turning …show more content…
Slave owners aspired to make their slaves completely dependent on them by using a system heir achy and strict rules for the slaves to live by. They were prohibited from learning to read and write which put them at an education disadvantage causing them to be very ignorant to life on and off the plantation. Many masters took sexual advantages over the slave women, and rewarded obedient slave behavior with favors, while rebellious slaves were brutally punished. A strict hierarchy among slaves ranged from privileged house slaves to lowly field hands. By law, slaves were the personal property of their owners and the slave master held absolute authority over his human property. White southerners grew more and more defensive and dependent upon the institution. They believed that black people, like children, were incapable of caring for themselves and that slavery was a benevolent institution that kept them fed, clothed, and