All excerpts taken from:
Dudley, William, ed. Slavery: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1992: 101-107, 108-116, 120-126, 127-135, 146-151.
“Resistance to Slavery is Not Justified”
Jupiter Hammon (1720?-1800?)
When I am writing to you with a design to say something to you for your good, and with a view to promote your happiness, I can with truth and sincerity join with the apostle Paul, when speaking of his own nation the Jews, and say: ‘That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.’ Yes my dear brethren, when I think of you, which is very often, and of the poor, despised and miserable state you are in, as to the things of this world, and when I think of your ignorance and stupidity, and the great wickedness of most of you, I am pained to the heart…I have wanted exceedingly to say something to you, to call upon you with the tenderness of a father and friend, and to give to you the last, and I may say dying advise, of an old man, who wished your best good in this world, and in the world to come…
1st. Respecting obedience to masters. –Now whether it is right, and lawful, in the sight of God, for them to make slaves of us or not. I am certain that while we are slaves, it is our duty to obey our masters, in all their lawful commands, and mind them unless we are bid to do that which we know to be sin, or forbidden in God’s word.
Now I acknowledge that liberty is a great thing, and worth seeking for, if we can get it honestly, and by our good conduct prevail on our masters to set us free. Thought for my own pat I do not wish to be free: yet I should be glad, if others, especially the young negroes were to be free, for many of us who are grown up slaves, and have always had masters to take care of us, should hardly know how to take care of ourselves; and it may be more for our own comfort to remain as we are. We live so little time in this world, that it is no matter how wretched and miserable we are, if it prepares us for heaven. What is forty, fifty, or sixty years when compared to eternity…Let me beg of you my dear African brethren, to think very little of your bondage I this life, for your thinking of it will do you no good. If God designs to set us free, he will do it, in his own time, and way; but think of your bondage to sine and satan, and do not rest, until you are delivered from it.”
“Resistance to Slavery is Justified”
Henry Hightland Garnet (1815-1881)
To such degradation [slavery] it is sinful in the extreme for you to make voluntary submission. The divine commandments you are in duty bound to reverence and obey. If you do not obey them, you will surely meet with the displeasure of the Almighty. He requires you to love Him supremely, and your neighbor as yourself, to keep the Sabbath day hold, to search the Scriptures, and bring up your children with respect for His laws, and to worship not other God but Him. But slavery sets all these at naught and hurls defiance in the face of Jehovah…The diabolical injustice by which your liberties are cloven down, neither God not angels, nor just men command you to suffer for a single moment. Therefore it is your solemn and imperative duty to use every means, both moral, intellectual and physical and promises success…
Brethren, arise, arise! Strike for your lives and liberties. Now is the Now is the day and hour. Let every slave throughout the land do this, and the days of slavery are numbered. You cannot be more oppressed than you have bee; you cannot suffer greater cruelties than you have already. Rather die freemen than live to be slaves. Remember that you a re four millions!
“A Positive Reminiscence of Slavery”
Millie Evans (1849?-?)
Was born in 1849, but I don’t know just when. My birthday comes in fodder-pulling time ‘cause my ma said she was pulling up till ‘bout a hour ‘fore I was born. Was born in North Carolina and was a young lady at the time of surrender.
I don’t remember Old Master’s name; all I ‘member is that we call ‘em Old Master and Old Mistress. They had ‘bout a hundred niggers, and they was rich. Master always tended the men, and Mistress tended to us…
We had the best mistress and master in the world, and they was Christian folks, and they taught us to Christian=like too. Every Sunday morning Old Mater would have all us niggers to the house while he would sing and pay and read the Bible to us all. Old Master taught us not to be bad; he taught us to be good; he told us to never steal nor to tell false tales and not to do anything tht was bad…
Now, child, I can’t ‘member everything I done in them days, but we didn’t have to worry ‘bout nothing. Old Mistress was the one to worry. Twasn’t then like it is now, not ‘twasn’t. We had such a good time, and everybody cried when the Yankees cried out: “Free.” T’other niggers say they had a hard time ‘fore they was free, but ‘twas then like ‘tis now. If you had a hard time, we done it ourselves.
“A Negative Reminiscence of Slavery”
Mary Reynolds (1837?-?)
Massa wasn’t no piddling man. He was a man of plenty…He raised corn and cotton and can and ‘taters and goobers, ‘sides the peas and other feeding for the niggers. I ‘member I held a hoe handle mighty unsteady when they put a old woman to larn me and some other children to scrape the fields. That old woman would be in a frantic. She’d show me and then turn bout to show some other little nigger, and I’d have the young corn cut clean as the grass. She say, “For the love of God, you better larn it right, or Solomon will beat the breath out you body.” Old Man Solomon was the nigger driver.
Slavery was the worst days was ever seed in the world. They was things past telling, but I got the scars on my body to show this day. I seed worse than what happened to me. I seed them put the men and women in the stock with they hands screwed down through holes in the board and they feets tied together and they naked behinds to the world. Solomon the overseer beat them with a bid whip and Massa look on…They cut the flesh ‘most to the bones, and some they was when they taken them out of stock and put them on the beds, they never go up again…
We was scared of Solomon and his whip, though, and he didn’t like frolicking. He didn’t like for us niggers to pray, either. We never heared of no church, but us have praying in the cabins. We’d set on the floor and pray with out heads down low and sing low, but if Solomon heared he’d come and beat on the wall with the stock of his whip. He’d say, “I’ll come in there and tear the hid off you backs.” But some of the old niggers tell us we got to pray to God that He don’t think different of the blacks and the whites. I know tht Solomon is burning in hell today, and it pleasures me to know it.
“The Southampton rebellion Resulted in White Violence”
Harriet A. Jacobs (1813-1897)
[Note: Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831 touched upon a constant fear of not only slave holders but all Southern whites: that of slave rebellion and violence. In the wake of the rebellion, whites retaliated against any and all lacks. Many blacks who were not connected with the rebellion were killed; others were beaten and had their houses searched looking for evidence of plans for rebellion.]
It was a grand opportunity for the low whites, who had no negroes of their own to scourge. They exulted in such a chance to exercise a little brief authority, and show their subserviency to the slaveholders; not reflecting that the power which trampled on the colored people also kept themselves in poverty, ignorance, and moral degradation. Those who never witnessed such scenes can hardly believe what I know was inflicted at this time on innocent men, women, and children, against whom there was not the slightest ground for suspicion…All day long these unfeeling wretches went round, like a troop of demons, terrifying and tormenting the helpless. At night, they formed themselves into patrol bands, and went wherever they chose among the colored people, acting ou their brutal will. Many women hid themselves in woods and swamps, to keep out of their way. I any of the husbands or gathers told of these outrages, they were tied up to the public whipping pose, and cruelly scourged for telling lies about white men.