Frances Ellen Watkins's The Slave Auction

The dictionary definition of American Literature is: written works; books or writings, of or pertaining to, a characteristic of the United States or its inhabitants. However, as Americans, we know from experience that American Literature is so much more than that. American literature is a quilt, sewn together by different cultures and beliefs; supported by ideas such as freedom, equality, and individualism. Fifty quilt squares, all uniquely individual, and explicitly shaped. In American literature it is evident that there are blended cultures, religions, races, ideas, and histories-- all which contribute to the foundation of the creation of such a phenomenon that we call American culture . Just as a child would, a country changes as it gets

For America, those are: Slavery, the fight for women's rights, and religion. At the forefront of the Civil War was the topic of slavery. The agriculture-dependent South was all for it, while the industry-ridden North was against it. “The Slave Auction” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, describes African American’s, expressions and feelings towards being auctioned off as a slaves. The poem describes the heart-wrenching reality of how each individual person was feeling. Even the men cried and wailed as they were taken from their children and wives. This is what America was partially built on, and it forever changed America, as much of the same discrimination still continues today. Another first hand account of slavery from Solomon Northup is captured in the book Twelve Years a Slave. Solomon Northup is kidnapped and sold into slavery at 33 years old. He works as a carpenter, cotton picker, and driver during the twelve years he spends as a slave. Eventually, Solomon is freed after withstanding beatings, smallpox, and an attempted hanging. Northup provides a detailed first hand account of his daily life as a slave, and sheds light on how poorly he and other African Americans were treated. His story describes how slaves were recaptured, treated, fed, and their relationship with their master. This book provides credible evidence to how slaves like Solomon Northup viewed America and how they developed in American culture. Contrary to many white Americans, Northup saw America as hell in confinement, rather than an amazing place of opportunity and freedom. However, not all slaves saw America as destructive and suffocating. Phillis Wheatley, an educated black woman, wrote “On Being Brought from Africa to America” during the 1700s. This poem is revolutionary because typically slaves did not know how to read or write, let alone compose a piece of poetry. Wheatley tries to look on