American Slavery

Robert Felgar

Utilizing key selections from American literature, this volume aligns with ELA Common Core Standards to give students a fresh perspective on and a keener understanding of slavery in the United States.Slavery is a central feature of American history, one with which the nation still has not come fully to terms. In this book, that seminal topic is examined in a fresh way-through literature. Organized chronologically to show evolving attitudes toward American slavery in the 19th century, the work focuses on four key 19th-century texts that are frequently taught, using them as a gateway for understanding this critical period and why slavery had to be destroyed if the Union was to be maintained.In addition to examining the four works-Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn-the book also provides numerous historical documents that contextualize slavery in the literary texts. These documents make it dramatically clear why issues such as abolition and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 were so controversial for 19th-century Americans. Aligned with the ELA Common Core Standards, the title supports history teachers with insights into classic literary works, and it enhances the English curriculum with rich elaborations of relevant historical context.

Did the Civil War have to be fought in order for slavery to be abolished?

I IntroductionII ChronologyIII Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (1845)Historical BackgroundAbout Frederick DouglassHistorical Explorations: OverseersFrom Frederick Douglass, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892)From Frederick Law Olmsted, The Cotton Kingdom (1861)From Two Letters from The Farmers' RegisterDiscussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsHistorical Explorations: Nineteenth-Century American SchoolbooksFrom The Columbian Orator, "Dialogue between a Master and Slave" (1797)From "A Discourse Delivered before the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves" April 12, 1797, by Rev. Samuel MillerFrom "Part of Mr. O'Connor's Speech in the Irish House of Commons, in Favor of the Bill for Emancipating the Roman Catholics, 1795," The Columbian OratorDiscussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsAreas for ResearchWhy We Read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass TodayIV Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)Historical BackgroundAbout Harriet Beecher StoweHistorical Explorations: Slave AuctionsFrom Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave (1853)From Henry Bibb, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave (1849)From Sojourner Truth, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave (1850)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsHistorical Explorations: Underground RailroadFrom Levi Coffin, Reminiscences of Levi Coffin (1880)From William Still, The Underground Railroad (1872)From Josiah Henson, The Life of Josiah Henson (1849)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsAreas for ResearchWhy We Read Uncle Tom's Cabin TodayV Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)Historical BackgroundAbout Harriet JacobsHistorical Explorations: Nat Turner's RebellionFrom Thomas R. Gray, The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831)Two Articles from North Carolina-Reporting on Nat Turner: Raleigh Register, Sept. 1, 1831Reporting on Nat Turner: North Carolina Star, Sept. 1, 1831From Thomas Wentworth Higginson, "Nat Turner's Insurrection," The Atlantic (1861)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsHistorical Explorations: The Fugitive Slave Law (1850)The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850From Ralph Waldo Emerson's Speech on the Fugitive Slave Law (1851)From Frederick Douglass's Speech on the Fugitive Slave Law (1852)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsHistorical Explorations: Nineteenth-Century Views of SlaveryFrom Angela Emily Grimké, An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836)From Lydia Maria Child, An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans (1836)From John C. Calhoun, "Slavery a Positive Good" (1837)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsAreas for ResearchWhy We Read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl TodayVI Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)Historical BackgroundAbout Mark TwainHistorical Explorations: AbolitionFrom William Lloyd Garrison, "To the Public" (1831)From Henry Highland Garnet, "An Address to the Slaves of the United States" (1843)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsHistorical Explorations: Slavery and ChristianityFrom James Henley Thornwell, "A Southern Christian View of Slavery" (1861)From Richard Furman, "Exposition of the Views of the Baptists Relative to the Coloured [sic] Population of the United States" (1822)Discussion QuestionsSuggested ReadingsAreas for ResearchWhy We Read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn TodayIndex