The abolition movement evolved significantly in the period spanning the time of Olaudah Equiano in the mid-18th Century, to the mid-19th Century of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs. Not only did the abolitionist rhetoric change, their goals, and the institution of slavery itself, transformed over course a century spanning the three narratives. Olaudah Equiano was writing in the mid-18th Century at the height of the slave trade and experienced slavery across the New World and Britain, and wrote in a primarily explanatory manner bringing to light the mostly unknown and raw aspects of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to a populous of Brits that for the most part had been spared knowledge of it. This is a reality far removed from the slavery
…show more content…
These people might claim that Harriet Jacobs was chronicling with sexual harassment and struggling to see her children because that is what resonated with her most, and that because the narrative resonated with Northern White women we as modern-day historians attribute motive to Jacobs’ actions. My response to this is simple, it is not unreasonable to claim that some readers might analyze too far, or look too deeply into some texts to extrapolate meaning or motive, but these works are not one of those cases. Jacobs’ writes, “It has been painful to me, in many ways, to recall the dreary years I passed in bondage“ and Douglass writes, “[I am] sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds.” These writers are clear in their motive, they are trying to end the institution of slavery to as Equiano put it, “may the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar benevolence on that important day when the question of Abolition is to be discussed.” Equiano, Douglass, and Jacobs goals are to end slavery, they use their personal experiences with the institution to form their arguments. The authors were writing to their own audiences and used the rhetorical tools at their disposal to convey their experiences and effectively influence change. Make no mistake, these authors knew what they aimed to do, and to say they did not lessens the impact of their
These people might claim that Harriet Jacobs was chronicling with sexual harassment and struggling to see her children because that is what resonated with her most, and that because the narrative resonated with Northern White women we as modern-day historians attribute motive to Jacobs’ actions. My response to this is simple, it is not unreasonable to claim that some readers might analyze too far, or look too deeply into some texts to extrapolate meaning or motive, but these works are not one of those cases. Jacobs’ writes, “It has been painful to me, in many ways, to recall the dreary years I passed in bondage“ and Douglass writes, “[I am] sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds.” These writers are clear in their motive, they are trying to end the institution of slavery to as Equiano put it, “may the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar benevolence on that important day when the question of Abolition is to be discussed.” Equiano, Douglass, and Jacobs goals are to end slavery, they use their personal experiences with the institution to form their arguments. The authors were writing to their own audiences and used the rhetorical tools at their disposal to convey their experiences and effectively influence change. Make no mistake, these authors knew what they aimed to do, and to say they did not lessens the impact of their