African American Voices

Steven Mintz is Professor of History and Director, American Cultures Program, at the University of Houston. His thirteen books include Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life (1988; co-authored with Susan Kellogg); and a major interpretation of antebellum reform, Moralists & Modernizers: America's Pre-Civil War Reformers (1995). His most recent book, Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood, received the Association of American Publishers R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Scholarly Book of 2004; the Organization of American Historians 2004 Merle Curti Award for the best book in social history; and the Texas Institute of Letters Carr P. Collins Award for the best non-fiction book of 2004.

• List of Figures xSeries Editors’ Preface xiPreface to the New Edition xiiiPreface xvIntroduction 1Chapter 1 ‘‘Death’s Gwineter Lay His Cold Icy Hands on Me’’: Enslavement 401 A European Slave Trader, John Barbot, Describes the African Slave Trade (1682) 422 A Muslim Merchant, Ayubah Suleiman Diallo, Recalls His Capture and Enslavement (1733) 453 An Employee of Britain’s Royal African Company Describes the Workings of the Slave Trade (1738) 484 Olaudah Equiano, an 11-Year-Old Ibo from Nigeria, Remembers His Kidnapping into Slavery (1789) 495 A Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park, Offers a Graphic Account of the African Slave Trade (1797) 516 Venture Smith Relates the Story of His Kidnapping at the Age of Six (1798) 52Chapter 2 ‘‘God’s A-Gwineter Trouble de Water’’: The Middle Passage and Arrival 571 A European Slave Trader, James Barbot, Jr., Describes a Shipboard Revolt by Enslaved Africans (1700) 592 Olaudah Equiano, Who Was Born in Eastern Nigeria, Describes the Horrors of the Middle Passage (1789) 623 A Doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes Conditions on an English Slaver (1788) 654 Olaudah Equiano Describes His Arrival in the New World (1789) 705 An English Physician, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes the Treatment of Newly Arrived Slaves in the West Indies (1788) 71Chapter 3 ‘‘A Change is Gonna Come’’: Slavery in the Era of the American Revolution 741 The Poet Phillis Wheatley Writes about Freedom and Equal Rights (1774) 752 Massachusetts Slaves Petition for Freedom (1774) 763 Virginia’s Royal Governor Promises Freedom to Slaves Who Join the British Army (1775) 784 Virginia’s Assembly Denounces Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation (1775) 795 Connecticut Slaves Petition for Freedom (1779) 806 Boston King, a Black Loyalist, Seeks Freedom Behind British Lines (1798) 827 A Participant in Gabriel’s Rebellion Explains Why He Took Part in the Attempted Insurrection (1812) 848 Gabriel’s Brother Explains the Rebellion’s Objectives (1800) 849 President Thomas Jefferson Tries to Arrange for the Deportation of Men Involved in Gabriel’s Rebellion (1802) 85Chapter 4 ‘‘We Raise de Wheat, Dey Gib Us de Corn’’: Conditions of Life 871 A Free Black Kidnapped from New York, Solomon Northrup, Describes the Working Conditions of Slaves on a Louisiana Cotton Plantation (1853) 882 Charles Ball, a Slave in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia, Compares Working Conditions on Tobaccoand Cotton Plantations (1858) 893 Josiah Henson, a Maryland Slave, Describes Slave Housing, Diet, and Clothing (1877) 914 Francis Henderson, Who Was a Slave near Washington, D.C., Describes Living Conditions Under Slavery (1856) 935 A South Carolina Slave, Jacob Stroyer, Recalls the Material Conditions of Slave Life (1898) 946 A Former Virginia Slave, James Martin, Remembers a Slave Auction (1937) 957 Elizabeth Keckley, Born into Slavery in Virginia, Describes a Slave Sale (1868) 96Chapter 5 ‘‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’’: Visual History of Slavery 981 The Inspection and Sale of an African Captive Along the West African Coast (1854) 992 An Illustration of the Layout of a Slave Ship (1807) 1003 Enslaved Africans on the Deck of a Slave Ship (1860) 1024 Two Slave Sale Advertisements (1859, c.1780s) 1035 A Fugitive Slave Advertisement (1774) 1056 An Illustration of a Slave Auction at Richmond, Virginia (1856) 1077 Five Generations of a Slave Family (c.1850s) 1088 An Engraving Illustrating Nat Turner’s Insurrection (c.1831) 1099 A Plantation Manual Offers Detailed Instructions to Overseers about How They Are to Treat Nursing Mothers (1857–1858) 11010 African Americans in Baltimore Celebrate the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, Extending the Vote to Black Men (1870) 111Chapter 6 ‘‘O Mother Don’t You Weep’’: Women, Children, and Families 1141 Harriet Jacobs Describes Her Efforts to Escape Verbal, Physical, and Sexual Abuse (1861) 1152 Bethany Veney Describes How She Aborted a Slave Sale (1889) 1193 Susie King Taylor Escapes to Freedom During the Civil War (1902) 1214 Jacob Stroyer Recalls the Formative Experiences of His Childhood (1898) 1235 James W. C. Pennington Analyzes the Impact of Slavery upon Childhood (1849) 1266 Lunsford Lane Describes the Moment When He First Recognized the Meaning of Slavery (1842) 1287 Laura Spicer Learns that Her Husband, Who Had Been Sold Away, Has Taken Another Wife (1869) 1308 An Overseer Attempts to Rape Josiah Henson’s Mother (1877) 1329 Lewis Clarke Discusses the Impact of Slavery on Family Life (1846) 135Chapter 7 ‘‘Go Home to My Lord and Be Free’’: Religion 1381 Olaudah Equiano, from Eastern Nigeria, Describes West African Religious Beliefs and Practices (1789) 1392 Charles Ball, a Slave in Maryland, Remembers a Slave Funeral, which Incorporated Traditional African Customs (1837) 1423 Peter Randolph, a Former Virginia Slave, Describes the Religious Gatherings Slaves Held Outside of Their Masters’ Supervision (1893) 1424 Henry Bibb, Who Toiled in Slavery in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Discusses ‘‘Conjuration’’ (1849) 145Chapter 8 ‘‘Oppressed So Hard They Could Not Stand’’: Punishment 1481 Frederick Douglass, a Fugitive Slave from Maryland, Describes the Circumstances that Prompted Masters to Whip Slaves (1845) 1492 Elizabeth Keckley of Virginia Describes a Lashing She Received (1868) 1503 John Brown, Born into Slavery in Virginia, Has Bells and Horns Fastened on His Head (1855) 1524 William Wells Brown, a Missouri Slave Driver, Is Tied Up in a Smokehouse (1847) 1535 Moses Roper, a Slave in Georgia and the Carolinas, Is Punished for Attempting to Run Away (1837) 1546 A Kentucky Slave, Lewis Clarke, Describes the Implements His Mistress Used to Beat Him (1846) 155Chapter 9 ‘‘Let My People Go’’: Resistance and Flight 1571 Frederick Douglass Resists a Slave Breaker (1845) 1582 Nat Turner, a Baptist Preacher in Virginia, Describes His Revolt Against Slavery (1831) 1633 Harriet Tubman, a Former Maryland Slave, Sneaks into the South to Free Slaves (1872) 1674 Harriet Tubman’s Life and Methods for Liberating Slaves (1863, 1865) 1695 Levi Coffin, the ‘‘President’’ of the Underground Railroad, Assists Fugitives to Escape Slavery (1876) 1726 A Maryland Slave, Margaret Ward, Follows the North Star to Freedom (1879) 1747 Frederick Douglass Borrows a Sailor’s Papers to Escape Slavery (1855, 1895) 1778 Henry ‘‘Box’’ Brown of Virginia Escapes Slavery in a Sealed Box (1872) 1799 Margaret Garner, a Fugitive Slave from Kentucky, Kills Her Daughter Rather Than See Her Returned to Slavery (1876) 181Chapter 10 ‘‘The Walls Came Tumblin’ Down’’: Emancipation 1841 Hannah Johnson, the Mother of a Black Soldier, Pleads with President Abraham Lincoln Not to Rescind the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) 1852 Private Thomas Long Assesses the Meaning of Black Military Service During the Civil War (1870) 1863 Corporal Jackson Cherry Appeals for Equal Opportunity for Former Slaves (1865) 1874 Jourdon Anderson, a former Tennessee Slave, Declines His Former Master’s Invitation to Return to His Plantation (1865) 1885 Major General Rufus Saxon Assesses the Freedmen’s Aspirations (1866) 1906 Colonel Samuel Thomas Describes the Attitudes of Ex-Confederates Toward the Freedmen (1865) 1917 Francis L. Cardozo of South Carolina Asks for Land for the Freedmen (1868) 1928 The Rev. Elias Hill Is Attacked by the Ku Klux Klan (1872) 1939 Henry Blake, a Former Arkansas Slave, Describes Sharecropping (1937) 19410 Frederick Douglass Assesses the Condition of the Freedmen (1880) 195Bibliographical Essay 198Bibliography 204Index 236