Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs Essay

When the first nineteen slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, an institution that would last more than two hundred years was created. These first slaves were treated more like how the indentured servants that came to the New World from England were. However, as time passed and the colonies grew larger, so did the institution of slavery. Even after the importing slaves internationally was banned in 1807 by Congress, the internal slave trade expanded exponentially. The growth and durability of slavery persisted until the end of the Civil War, a time period greater than the entire existence of the United States. The institution of slavery was not only able to endure through two hundred fifty of turbulent change in America, but it was able to advance. This is due to the mindsets of slavery as a â€Å"necessary evil† and a â€Å"positive good† coupled with the dependence on them for such a large portion of the economy. These factors can be observed in the narratives written by Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs. Although Olaudah Equiano was not directly involved in American slavery, several aspects of The Life of Olaudah Equiano can be used to understand why the institution lasted so long. A major part of the novel was dedicated to counter one of the major propagating ideas of slavery: the widespread myth that Africans were either not fully human or were of a less developed branch of humanity so enslaving them was moral. Equiano spends the first section of the bookShow MoreRelatedThe Classic Slave Narratives: Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano1985 Words   |  8 PagesThe book The Classic Slave Narratives is a collection of narratives that includes the historical enslavement experiences in the lives of the former slaves Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Olaudah Equiano. They all find ways to advocate for themselves to protect them from some of the horrors of slavery, such as sexual abuse, verbal abuse, imprisonment, beatings, torturing, killings and the nonexisten ce of civil rights as Americans or rights as human beings. Also, their keen wit and intelligenceRead MoreOlaudah Equiano, A British Slave, And Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs, American Slaves Essay1737 Words   |  7 PagesThe autobiographies of Olaudah Equiano, a British slave, and Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, American slaves, highlight the transition from the institution of British slavery pre-American Revolution to the 18th and 19th century American plantation slavery. The explicit differences between the two systems suggest unique factors that either promoted or hindered each institution. In Britain, slavery was generally driven by economic factors that relied on trained labor. 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Men were allowedRead MoreThe Moral Dilemma And Hypocrisy Of Slavery Essay1907 Words   |  8 Pagesthat time, slaves produced narratives that sought to garner popular support for bringing an end to slavery. Of the prolific abolitionist narratives published, notably, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were praised for how their rhetoric challenged slavery. These narratives, combined in Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s The Classic Slave Narratives, revealed atrocious truths aboutRead MoreIndividual Rhetorical Analysis Of The Selected Readings2297 Words   |  10 PagesIndividual rhetorical analysis of the selected readings by Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe are necessary to arrive at a collective analysis of the most effective strategies. Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavas Vassa, the African† was first published in 1789 in London, England (687). Equiano’s narrative is informative; however, it is critical of the treatment of slaves and persuasive in its appeals to