'Slavery In The Making Of America's Seeds Of Destruction'

During the Antebellum Era, slave narratives were prominent historical sources that gave great insight to the first-hand experience of slaves in America. As they signified to white America the true horrors and exploitation of the institution of slavery from the witness accounts of enslaved African Americans who actually experienced it. In the narratives, the enslaved stressed the horrors of slavery through their various life experiences in the south with their slaveholders and their great will to escape their bondage. Thus, demonstrating the immorality of such an institution to their intended audience of white America in order to not only tell their story but move their audience to see the demeaning and inhumane institution for what it is to hopefully abolish it. Through Frederick Douglass’s Narrative and the story of Harriet Jacobs documented in the documentary Slavery in the Making of America’s “Seeds of Destruction,” their struggles reveal the horror and triumph of surviving and escaping such …show more content…
Although, as a slave girl her experiences are far different from Frederick’s experience in slavery as a slave man. From her experience, she reveals how young slave girls experienced lots of sexual harassment from their masters. In the documentary Slavery in the Making of America’s “Seeds of Destruction,” an excerpt of Harriet’s narrative discusses how “no matter what slave girl looks like dark, light, medium if she’s attractive it’s a curse because the master will be after her” (Slavery). Essentially displaying the psychological struggles young slave girls endured as their masters’ men far older than them preyed on them sexually. Yet, never seeing herself as a victim instead seeing her predator master as an enemy Harriet demonstrates the strong willed nature African Americans had to still continue to fight no matter the