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A Mysterious Property By Kenneth M. Stampp Summary

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The topic of slavery is most definitely an interesting one. It has taken place across the globe and is as old as civilization itself while taking many forms. Slavery was brought to the Americas to assist with the growing need for laborers and continued for hundreds of years. The cotton boom created by Eli Whitney’s cotton gin called for an increase of labor that lasted through the Civil War Era. Slave mentality and attitude towards their work varied from job to job, location to location, and master to master. While some slaves fought against their masters with rebellion, others chose to simply live in a way of avoiding attention being drawn to them; they would get done what needed to be done and nothing more. Their actions affected the lives …show more content…

When it comes to slavery, there is a tendency for the historians to have contradicting ideas. This is partly due to the fact that much of slave and early African American history in our country was passed down orally rather than being written down on paper. Three historians who show different ways of thinking towards this issue are Kenneth M. Stampp, Eugene D. Genovese, and Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman. Their articles cover different subtopics, but with the same focus; slavery and its effects on our history. “A Troublesome Property” by Kenneth M. Stampp is an article that touches on whether slaves liked being slaves or not. The primary opinion of Stampp’s work is that overall slaves didn’t like being slaves. Evidence towards this includes how often slaves would run away or plan some sort of attempt. A handful of slavs like Nat Turner organized large-scale violent revolts in their attempt to send a message of discontent with the way society was treating African Americans, whether they were free or …show more content…

It included tough quotas with punishment if they were not met, but a celebration and rewards for a met quota awaited them at the end of the season. However in oftentimes a whip was necessary to keep the slaves going as cotton picking was “hard and distasteful work,”(312). Another method to keep them going during this intense labor was song. At times a slave would sing to himself individually, but Genovese states that “whenever possible they sang collectively, in ways derived from Africa but rooted in their own

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