For years, slaves were mistreated and abused some slaves believed they were “a working people unjustly deprived of their fruits of their labor” (418). In 1860 as the shift from indentured servitude to slavery started to take place, many of the enslaved persons had visions of freedom. They had a vision where they would be treated as humans, and in control of their own lives. Where they too could have happy families and be wealthy landowners, but since freedom didn’t come for another couple of years or so, they began to resist. They began to take matters into their own hands to create change putting slave resistance at the heart of freedom. This paper seeks to describe how slaves resisted, how the Civil War allowed slaves to be a part of
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The witnessed with their own seeing eyes that things were definitely different. Once the enslaved person realized they were not being treated as equals they knew it was time for a change. Slave resistance made ways for slaves to feel more human and a lot less like property. They had visions of owning land and being self-sufficient. They adopted religion and sometimes secretly assembled which was banned if a slave owner wasn’t present. Religion allowed for the slaves to see themselves as children of God and in charge of their own lives. Slaves often spoke of freedom and slave resistance came in the form of escapes. A notable escape includes the underground railroad, where a group of fugitive slaves would travel through the night from house to house hiding out until they reached freedom. With the help of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad, 50,000 slaves were able to reach the free north. White slave owners saw fugitive slaves as a threat, they were considered dangerous because they could help other slaves or be an example to them. In smaller attempts, a slave described how he would use impersonations and other methods to escape. In addition to trying to escape, slaves rioted and rebelled as a form of resistance like in the Nat Turner Rebellion in Virginia on August 22, 1831. Turner believed that he was chosen by God to start an uprising in the name of freedom that caused widespread panic and anxiety. …show more content…
Civil War to eventually set them free forever. Years of enslavement and resistance shows how slaves were committed to freedom. “The common thread that linked these regional African American cultures were the experience of slavery and the desire for freedom” (144). Slaves created a solidarity based off their oppression and desire for freedom. They realized they were being used and never got to reap any of the benefits of their work. There is no doubt that slavery shaped the world. It was easy to capture and extract labor from enslaved people until they it wasn’t right. They may have been an uneducated group of people but they weren’t as stupid or blind as the white man perceived them to be. They noticed the unjust things happening around them. They relied and sometimes depended on each other to make it through these times and eventually it would all be rewarded. They knew that there were far greater things in store and wanted to be treated as humans, as equals. They rioted, rebelled, and resisted their way to
The witnessed with their own seeing eyes that things were definitely different. Once the enslaved person realized they were not being treated as equals they knew it was time for a change. Slave resistance made ways for slaves to feel more human and a lot less like property. They had visions of owning land and being self-sufficient. They adopted religion and sometimes secretly assembled which was banned if a slave owner wasn’t present. Religion allowed for the slaves to see themselves as children of God and in charge of their own lives. Slaves often spoke of freedom and slave resistance came in the form of escapes. A notable escape includes the underground railroad, where a group of fugitive slaves would travel through the night from house to house hiding out until they reached freedom. With the help of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad, 50,000 slaves were able to reach the free north. White slave owners saw fugitive slaves as a threat, they were considered dangerous because they could help other slaves or be an example to them. In smaller attempts, a slave described how he would use impersonations and other methods to escape. In addition to trying to escape, slaves rioted and rebelled as a form of resistance like in the Nat Turner Rebellion in Virginia on August 22, 1831. Turner believed that he was chosen by God to start an uprising in the name of freedom that caused widespread panic and anxiety. …show more content…
Civil War to eventually set them free forever. Years of enslavement and resistance shows how slaves were committed to freedom. “The common thread that linked these regional African American cultures were the experience of slavery and the desire for freedom” (144). Slaves created a solidarity based off their oppression and desire for freedom. They realized they were being used and never got to reap any of the benefits of their work. There is no doubt that slavery shaped the world. It was easy to capture and extract labor from enslaved people until they it wasn’t right. They may have been an uneducated group of people but they weren’t as stupid or blind as the white man perceived them to be. They noticed the unjust things happening around them. They relied and sometimes depended on each other to make it through these times and eventually it would all be rewarded. They knew that there were far greater things in store and wanted to be treated as humans, as equals. They rioted, rebelled, and resisted their way to