Robert Smalls Research Paper

This ended the Civil War (Bodenner). By the time the Civil War ended, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had freed many laborers. By freeing the slaves, Lincoln hoped to dispossess the South of its prime source of labor and inspire escaped slaves

After escaping slavery and seeking freedom in the North, former slaves would often write their testimonies of the cruel life on the southern plantations. One of the best and most recognizable examples of this genre is “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” whose author, Frederick Douglas, became an important figure not only in literature but also in history of fighting for civil rights. He was born into slavery and raised by the grandparents because his mother was assigned to work in a field far away and was not allowed to stay with her son. Life at the plantation was full of abuse and cruelty, which he could witness from a young age by seeing his aunt being whipped. He described slaves’ fear of their masters that often took pleasure in punishing and whipping their property; the hardships of fieldwork where blacks would work all day with only few breaks for meals or how the owners were impregnating black women in order for them to produce more, free laborers.

They would separate families when the children are born, and move the mother to a different plantation to try and stop the slaves to have bonds. But, when Frederick went to live with Mr. Freeland, he created bonds with the other slaves. “I therefore resolved that 1835 should not pass without witnessing an attempt, on my part, to secure my liberty. But I was not willing to cherish this determination alone. My fellow slaves were dear to me”(Douglass, 91).

In the general orders document the African Americans had no say in the recruitment process. I think the flyers appealed to the colored people simply because they talked about freedom and most colored people couldn't read or write so they probably couldn't comprehend the entire flyer and possibly based what they did off of what others told them. To an extent they weren't free still. In the document, it says “Three or more field officers will be detailed as Inspectors to supervise the organization of colored troops at such points as may be indicated by the War Department in the Northern and Western States.”

During slave times, there were many struggles and obstacles that African Americans were required to endure in order to survive in the deep south. Some accepted their fate while others would try and escape in order to live a better life. Almost anything that could help African Americans improve their life was tucked away for them to suffer instead. Surely, it was a hard time for African Americans. Many authors have written narratives in an attempt to capture the struggles African Americans went through.

In the novel, this is shown through the King and Duke’s actions. After stealing the six thousand dollars from the family of Peter Wilks, the Duke suggest, “That we glide out of this before three in the morning, and clip it down the river with what we got” (Twain 179), to which the King replies, “What! And not sell out the rest o’ the property?” (Twain 180). The Duke wants to leave with what they already stole, but the King gets greedy and decides to get more money by selling all of Peter Wilks property and slaves.

In like manner, all slaves wanted was to be able to have their own job that they could be paid for and their own house just like any other American citizen. “The Underground Railroad was established to aid enslaved people in their escape to freedom” (Hudson 1). Slaves had no other option than to try to run away from their plantation and hopefully run into someone working for the Underground Railroad to assist them in their escape. There were a lot of people who supported the Underground Railroad that did not want to be known publicly about due to how frowned upon it was especially in the South. A majority of some of the people in the North did not want to get immersed in helping with the Underground Railroad because they thought it was iniquitous to help an escaped slave run from the law.

Fredrick Douglass does not actually tell us exactly how he escaped in detail to the North from slavery because he does not want to give any slave masters information. Which makes sense because, he would not like to be giving slave owners an upper hand on slaves that do try to escape. One of the most important factors to Fredrick Douglass gaining his freedom is when he moved to Baltimore. I believe that is where his quest for freedom began.

After Douglass published his Autobiography ‘Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave’ he had to escape to Great Britain, leaving his family behind in fear of being recaptured until 1847 when he became a free man with help from British supporters (Bodden 16-17). If he wouldn’t have sailed to Britain and gained support from British followers he would have risked being captured by white men and put back into slavery, so he had to leave everything behind. Despite all of this his sacrifice helped us learn more about slavery and what they went through. Frederick Douglass worked hard to free slaves, and even endangered himself a few times in the process.

One of his quotes once said,”Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” Abraham wanted to limit the expansion of slavery, so he issued the Emancipation of proclamation. Although the proclamation didn’t really free all of the slaves, it only counted in some

Throughout the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm is given different names from his friends and family. Each name represents a different stage of his life. In fact, for all the important moments in his life, Malcolm is given a new name. Malcolm used these names to express his mind, whether he thought about religion or reefers. In Haley’s

Slaves knew that running away from their master would be hard, due to the lack of trust they were given. As time passed, slaves became wiser, and more determined to be free. Many slaves set up plans, and met with men that would help them escape the horrible lives they faced. Many slaves decided to create plans that would help them get out of their lives as servants, knowing that the consequences would be brutal. According to Dr. Bryan Walls, “Henry Box Brown” from KQED he says “a White sympathizer.

Malcolm X was conceived Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mom, Louise Norton Little, was a homemaker involved with the family's eight kids. His dad, Earl Little, was a candid Baptist serve and energetic supporter of Black Nationalist pioneer Marcus Garvey. Earl's social equality activism provoked demise dangers from the racial oppressor association Black Legion, driving the family to migrate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday celebration. Notwithstanding the Little's endeavors to escape the Legion, in 1929, their Lansing, Michigan home was singed to the ground.

Also, many Texans believed that abolitionists were constantly trying to interfere with slavery. Abolitionists were always suspected of causing trouble, so as a result they had to be careful. The same story related to the supposed attempt of an African American child trying to blow up some houses in the Weekly Telegraph claimed that, it was likely that the African American child was helped out by white people. There were abolitionists in the town who willingly helped African Americans.