Harriet Jacobs Portrayal of Slavery

During the nineteenth century people of all races and genders had a hard time living. People from all backgrounds coexisted, but it was not very peaceful. White, land-owning men had life pretty easy because they were aloud to vote and own slaves. White people viewed slaves as worthless and only good for working in the fields. For example, Harriet Jacobs states in her article that “they regard children as property, as marketable as the pigs on the plantation” (American Yamp Reader “Harriet Jacobs on Rape and Slavery”).

That statement shows how little the owners really felt for their slaves. For slaves, however, life was not picture-perfect. They lived in tight quarters and got beat almost daily.

Black women, men, and children slaves were often victims of this hatred. The feelings slaves had toward their owner varied from person to person. Some slaves had life pretty easy working inside the house. On the other hand, most slaves work tirelessly in the field all day and even into the night with candlelight sometimes. Women, had it the worst though. They got put through the worst of it because they became victims of rape and being sexually exploited by their owners. Slaves went through many challenges through this time and dealt with them in many different ways which brought up many feelings between owners and slaves.

Slaves viewed owners as demanding, violent, and ruthless human beings. In Harriet Jacobs story, it mentioned that at the age of fifteen she started to get sexually harassed and raped by her owner (10.6 Harriet Jacobs | A Girl Threatened by Sexual Exploitation). This action created tension between her owner and grandmother. This is because Harriet’s grandmother wanted to buy Harriet from her owner, however, he said that she is his property and he controls what she does. That proves how slaves felt owners were demanding towards the slaves. The owners were also very violent towards slaves. For example, in Document 10.5, William Wells Brown struggled with intense whips when he was in trouble. His owner signaled for the slaves at four in the morning for breakfast.

When the thirty minutes are up the slaves have to be at their station before the overseer blows the horn. When a slave was not in position working they were lashed ten times by the negro whip. The negro whip was a six or seven foot long whip that was made of cowhide and covered with plaited wire at the end of it (10.5 William Wells Brown | Memories of Childhood). Lastly, the owners are described as ruthless by slaves. In Solomon Northup’s article, Endless Labor and Constant Fear, he describes an average day of a slave. They are awaken generally by a horn to work each day and work until the overseer says their day is over. The slaves then went to the gin-house to get their cotton weighed out for the day, and if they met their goal they were aloud to go home, but if it wasn’t met then the slaves were in for a punishment. That meant if a slave was under the weight by less than an ounce, the owners would still be ruthless and give them a beating (10.7 Solomon Northup | Endless Labor and Constant Fear).

Owners, on the other hand had life pretty easy. They treated the slaves as animals. For example, in Edward Strutt Abdy article, the slaves were kept in a “house” that was known as the “slaves’ pen.” It was a small house that was surrounded by wooden paling that was fourteen feel high and posts on the outside to prevent slaves from escaping. It was merely a prison for slaves. The space between the house and the posts was not even enough room for any air circulation. The house had one tiny window and during different seasons there was no thermostat to regulate the temperature inside. These owners obviously views slaves as lesser than themselves because while the white, privileged owners are in their comfy homes, slaves are being cramped in a tiny house with people of many ages and different genders (10.1 Edward Strutt Abdy | Description of Washington D.C., Slave Pen, 1833). The way owners viewed slaves was degrading to society and detrimental to the mental wellbeing on the slaves.

Slaves were put into a tough situation when they were put through The Slave Market. The slaves had to dress up and act like being bought into slavery wasn’t a bad thing. The artist Friedrich Shulz depicted this event with a painting. However, what was a sad day for slaves, he made into a vibrant painting that disregarded slaves’ feelings at the time (10.8 Friedreich Shulz, The Slave Market). Solomon Northup saw this happen first hand when he saw a couple being sold at the Slave Market. The owner, Freeman, was interested in buying a male, black slave, so he split up the couple (American Yamp Reader | Solomon Northup Describes a Slave Market, 1841). Unfortunately, many slave families have been through this situation and they are forced to find a way out.

Fortunately, for most of the slaves in these documents they escaped. Escaping wasn’t easy for slaves, for example, Harriet Jacobs escaped at age 22, however, she “remained hidden for seven years in a crawlspace in the house under her free grandmother, a free black women” (10.6). Another way that slaves dealt with situations were rebellions. One in specific, is Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831. He told interviewers that he was given a calling from the Heavens that said, “Seek ye kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added to you” (Nat Turner Explains His Rebellion, 1831). He continually prayed for two years after that message and was given a vision.

The vision depicted “white and black spirits engaged in a battle, and the sun was darkened, the thunder rolled in the Heavens and blood flowed in streams he heard a voice ‘Such is your luck, such you are called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must surely bare it.’” When looking for certainty he found blood on the corn and Turner said it was like drops of dew from Heaven – the blood of Christ. This vision led him to lead the riot that led him and a group of free and enslaved black men in a rebellion that ended up killing over fifty white men, women, and children. (American Yamp Reader | Nat Turner).

Overall, slaves struggled their whole lives. However, one in particular is quite striking. Mary Reynolds claimed to be over 100 years old when she was interviewed and claimed that one of the biggest struggles for her was that there was no church when she was enslaved. Therefore, no matter what the circumstance was, each slave was treated poorly at one time or another. Slaves views owners as bad people and owners viewed slaves as animals. The slaves were kept outside all day and rarely given time for breaks. Slavery in the 19th Century was cruel and corrupt and everyone should take time to learn about the history of the land we live in. 

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