Equiano was born in west africa and became a slave at the age of 11 when he was bought by an english naval officer. Many southern blacks, slave and free, who had access to evangelical christianity, embraced it eagerly, adapting it to fit past and present experience. Unlike any other body of literature, it provides us with a firsthand account of institutional raciallymotivated human bondage in an ostensibly democratic society. The bibliography is a list of citations of known north american slave narratives. The columbian orator, dialogue of master and slave. Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life. Discussing the importance of the american slave narrative frederick douglass. George klawitter, viterbo college a valuable reference for students who are doing papers on narrative tradition, autobiography, etc. The edition of the bondwomans narrative that gates published in 2002 includes, as an appendix, a selected list of the books in colonel wheelers library, drawn from an 1850 catalogue. Through an emphasis on slavery as deprivationbuttressed by extensive evidence of a lack of adequate food, clothing, and shelter. The true story of americas first black female slave novelist.
Twelve years a slave, northup declared, would present a full and truthful statement of all the principal events in the history of my life, and to portray the institution of slavery as i have seen and known it. A folk history of slavery in the united states often referred to as the wpa slave narrative collection was a massive compilation of histories by former slaves undertaken by the federal writers project of the works progress administration from 1936 to 1938. The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the written autobiographical accounts. Vassa, the african, which was published in london in the late 1780s. Christianity, a religion having connections to the imperialistic slave holding european. Slave narratives were hugely popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with many going through multiple reprintings and selling tens of thousands of copies.
Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Frederick douglass wrote one of the best known books about an escaped slave, the narrative of the life of frederick douglass, an american slave, which was published in 1845. Slave narrativesin 1856 the fugitive slave john thompson b. No group of slaves anywhere, in any other ear, has left such prolific testimony to the horror of bondage and servitude. The title and contents of thompsons narrative establishes it as a representative. A fragment of his narrative is included in this program. As shown by the following passages adapted from noel raes new book the great stain, which uses firsthand accounts to tell the story of slavery in america for some of them that. It serves as a research tool for scholars interested in.
With the emancipation proclamation, the end of the american civil war. The books author, olaudah equiano, had been born in presentday nigeria in the 1740s. Alabama by library of congress available from rakuten kobo. Incidents in the life of a slave girl is a slave narrative, an autobiography firstperson narrative by an enslaved black american woman who describes her experiences in slavery and her escape from bondage in the south to freedom in the north. The narrative of peter and vina still after forty years of slavery by kate e. An american slave, from the eighteenth chapter, months of peril, of harriet jacobss.
Washingtons hybrid slave narrativeautobiography up from slavery 1901 a time or two. This bibliography is based on the work of william l. After all, solomon northup published his memoir 161 years ago, and it and the genre to which it belongs, the africanamerican slave narrative, were largely forgotten, devalued as literature or. The story of the exodus from egypt and the book of revelation were stripped from this truncated version of the bible.
It was the simultaneous effort of statelevel branches of fwp in seventeen states, working largely separately from. List of books and articles about slave narratives online. Frederick douglass narrative of the life of frederick douglass sold 30,000 copies between 1845 and 1860, william wells browns narrative went through four editions in its first year, and solomon. Narrative of sojourner truth, a northern slave, emancipated from bodily servitude by the state of new york, in 1828 1850 william and ellen craft running a thousand miles for freedom. That this was so is evidence of the slaves ability not only to adapt to new context but to do so creatively. Slave bible exhibit examines use of religion in colonial period. A free man cannot see things in the same light with the slave, because he does not, and cannot, look from the same point from which the slave does, argued frederick douglass 18171895 in his second autobiography, my bondage and my freedom 2003, p. Douglas went on to become a lecturer after joining the. He was taken into slavery when he was about 11 years old. Born in an inland village in presentday nigeria, equiano was sold at age eleven to a royal navy lieutenant who pressed the young. Like douglass, harriet jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1861 she published incidents in the life of a slave girl, now recognized as the most comprehensive antebellum slave narrative written by a woman.
In his autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african 1789, olaudah equiano recounts his early childhood in africa, his capture by slave traders, his experiences in savannah, and the purchase of his freedom. University exslave narrative programs began in the 1920s to preserve the national treasury of experiences among the survivors of the peculiar institution. Some report the conversion so central to evangelicalism. The invisible institution in the antebellum south raboteau, albert j. Slave narratives is a compendium of writings and recollections by a diverse group of writers who exposed the realities of slave life in precivil war america and thereby challenged the conscience of a nation while laying the foundations of an african american literary tradition. The first noteworthy slave narrative was the interesting narrative of the life of o. The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the written autobiographical accounts of enslaved africans in great britain and its colonies, including the later united states, canada, and caribbean nations.
Religion was a driving element of douglasss and turners worldly education as. Ashraf rushdy argues that there are three kinds of neoslave narrative. These interviews, all of which were conducted between 1936 and 1938, gave former slaves an unparalleled chance to share their memories of life in bondage. Andrews, series editor of the docsouth collection north american slave narratives. Narrative of the life of frederick douglass by frederick douglass, incidents in the life of a slave girl by harriet an. Politics, sex, and manuscripts in the haitian revolution liverpool studies in international slavery reprint by deborah jenson isbn. So i learned in the most wellknown slave narrative of all. Containing his history of twentyfive years in bondage, and his providential escape. Slave religion, african american community during slavery, african. The film is based on the narrative written by solomon northup, which was published in 1853 and became a bestseller. The narratives reveal the duality of black religious experience. One of the groups most noteworthy and enduring achievements was the slave narrative collection, consisting of more than 2,000 transcripts of interviews with former slaves, who, in blunt, simple words, provided oftenstartling firstperson accounts of their lives in bondage. A chronological narration of the authors life focused on family history, accepting religion, learning how to read and write and achieving freedom represents the typical structure of a slave narrative.
The genius of douglasss narrative, often considered the epitome of the slave narrative douglasss narrative links literacy and freedom. By linking the book of job to slave narratives, positive and negative impacts of. Veney, bethany, the narrative of bethany veney, a slave woman 1889, 78 p, 20. But the religion of the slave holder is everywhere a system of mere delusion, got up expressly for the purpose of deceiving the poor slaves, for. My name is james v deane, son of john and jane deane, bora at goose bay in charles county, may 20, 1850. Douglas proved to be an impressive public speaker and writer, he eventually immortalized his life story whether as a slave or a free man in three autobiographies, which are narrative of the life of frederick douglass, an american slave 1845 my bondage and my freedom 1855 and life and times of frederick douglass 1881. Slave narratives recount the personal experiences of antebellum slaves or former slaves, and comprise one of the most extensive and influential traditions in african american literature and culture. Although slave narratives vary significantly in form and style, their structure generally includes several common elements.
Removed from the experience of slavery and incapable of ever looking at the world from the point of view. Discussing the importance of the american slave narrative. Using autobiographical narratives, the book shows how black writers transformed the earthly. Through a stepbystep process, students will acquire skills. Watson, an anthropology student at fisk university, interviewed one hundred former slaves, and in 192930, john b.
Many of the slave narratives that were collected during the wpa project during 19361938 are part of the library of congress slave narrative website section at the end of this webliography. Introduction to the scholarly bibliography of slave and ex. Slave narratives first appeared in the united states around 1703, but most were published during the era of abolitionism, from 1831 to the end of the. Both kinds of novels were bestsellers in the 1850s.
A true and faithful account of the religion and manners of the mahometans by joseph pitts. Memoirs from the slave narrative collection dover thrift editions by yetman, norman r. Narrative of the life of frederick douglass historical classics, 20, first published in 1845. Some six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist.
Bob greene says the stories of former slaves, compiled in 1930s, tell of families torn apart, people deprived of basic freedoms. Many other narratives from the collection are found in some of the books that are listed in this webliography. For contemporary americans, these narratives provide a. He presents the narratives of the slaves themselves, as well as missionary. Slave narrative and black autobiography richard wrights black boy and james weldon johnsons autobiography the slave narrative maintains a unique station in modern literature. American slave narratives and the book of job vcu scholars. The slave narrative is a genre of literature that was written mostly between the mid 1700s and the late 1800s by african slaves in america. Anderson html and tei at unc items below if any are from related and broader terms. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Slave religion in the antebellum south books gateway. Before the end of the civil war, over one hundred former slaves had written moving stories of their captivity and by 1944, when george washington carver published his autobiography, over six thousand exslaves ahd written what caalled slave narratives. Slave narratives and abolitionist books share much in common in terms of their descriptions of the institution of slavery, how slavery is entrenched in american society, and how slaves struggle to overcome the psychological humiliation and physical degradation that slavery entails. Slave narratives document the gamut of their religious experience and practice. Slave narratives comprise one of the most influential traditions in american literature, shaping the form and themes of some of the most celebrated and controversial writing, both in fiction and in autobiography, in the history of the.
Guide to religious content in slave narratives compiled by marcella grendler, andrew leiter, and jill sexton. How christian slaveholders used the bible to justify slavery. I have taught douglass, jacobs, and brown together in one course, and i have taught each of them individually as the sole slave narrative representation and with other slave narratives. The antebellum slave narrative was the product of fugitive bondmen who rejected the authority of their masters and their socialization as slaves and broke away, often violently, from slavery. With the critical buzz surrounding 12 years a slave, the topic of american slavery in the 19th century is again brought to the forefront of the public consciousness. The book s author, olaudah equiano, had been born in presentday nigeria in the 1740s. Daily tribune book and job printing office, 1857, by william j. Slave narrative, an account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave, either written or orally related by the slave personally. References are limited to descriptions written by slaves of religion and religious practice during the period of slavery.
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