Isa's Blog -America 1854 - Slavery
Lynn B. Connor - Adventures in History
LINK: ebook THE ENGLISH WOMAN IN AMERICA
at Gutenberg.org (free)
at Gutenberg.org (free)
Slavery
Here in Cincinnati, I saw a slave for the first time - "an African female, the slave of a lady from Florida, with a complexion black as the law which held her in captivity."
How can a country that boasts of freedom have slaves? Three million intelligent and responsible people are treated as property. "It gives a living lie to the declaration, 'All men are free and equal.'"
My "foolish prejudice" surprised me. I cringed at the first touch of a black hand, "not quite free from the juvenile idea that the black comes off.'"
I grew up believing slavery was wrong. My aunts "took no sugar in their tea, and felt the sacrifice to be a sacred protest against slave-grown products" in the British empire. My cousin, William Wilburforce, was a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade and slavery, and that has been done in the England. Yet, I was prejudiced.
Here in Cincinnati, I saw a slave for the first time - "an African female, the slave of a lady from Florida, with a complexion black as the law which held her in captivity."
How can a country that boasts of freedom have slaves? Three million intelligent and responsible people are treated as property. "It gives a living lie to the declaration, 'All men are free and equal.'"
My "foolish prejudice" surprised me. I cringed at the first touch of a black hand, "not quite free from the juvenile idea that the black comes off.'"
I grew up believing slavery was wrong. My aunts "took no sugar in their tea, and felt the sacrifice to be a sacred protest against slave-grown products" in the British empire. My cousin, William Wilburforce, was a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade and slavery, and that has been done in the England. Yet, I was prejudiced.
In 1845, a healthy 18-year-old slave could be bought for $650 (about $14,500 in today's dollars).
In 1854, slavery was prohibited in 15 states and 16 slave states.
