Slavery has been one of the most inhumane and unjust practices in the history of the United States. Many people who have experienced life under slavery first-handedly, or witnessed this custom being practiced, have captured their personal responses in the form of books. Later, they published these books to highlight the brutality of the Southern slaveholders towards their slaves. Frederick Douglass, the author of the autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, the writer of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, were among those individuals who survived the cruelty of slavery and documented their journey to share their experiences with others. Their personal stories have influenced the free Northern States
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Churches in the South teach the black men and women that, they are bound to follow their master and mistress’s orders, and compare them to the “heavenly master” (Incidents 480). Both Jacobs and Douglass confirm that slave masters always use religion to have control over their slaves. Since religion asks the slaves to obey and be true to their masters and mistresses, the masters take advantage of the situation and develop sexual relationships with female slaves. Slave owners consider themselves as true Christians. Still, the mistresses would wish death and worst for their helpless female slaves because their noble husbands are sexually attracted to them. Slavery has corrupted the souls of white slaveholding women as “for the free, middle class woman the choice of husband was the choice” (Sherman 172), meaning that, even the life of a free white woman is controlled by her husband. This eventually forces her to go through “sexual jealousy” (Sherman 182). Sherman refers to the white slaveholders as “serpent” who not only corrupt the morals of slave womans, but also the white womans. This further implies that the notion of “true womanhood” is created by the serpents to control women, and religion is one of the concepts that the serpents
Churches in the South teach the black men and women that, they are bound to follow their master and mistress’s orders, and compare them to the “heavenly master” (Incidents 480). Both Jacobs and Douglass confirm that slave masters always use religion to have control over their slaves. Since religion asks the slaves to obey and be true to their masters and mistresses, the masters take advantage of the situation and develop sexual relationships with female slaves. Slave owners consider themselves as true Christians. Still, the mistresses would wish death and worst for their helpless female slaves because their noble husbands are sexually attracted to them. Slavery has corrupted the souls of white slaveholding women as “for the free, middle class woman the choice of husband was the choice” (Sherman 172), meaning that, even the life of a free white woman is controlled by her husband. This eventually forces her to go through “sexual jealousy” (Sherman 182). Sherman refers to the white slaveholders as “serpent” who not only corrupt the morals of slave womans, but also the white womans. This further implies that the notion of “true womanhood” is created by the serpents to control women, and religion is one of the concepts that the serpents