Slavery Dbq Essay

Did you know that Harriet Tubman rescued over 300 people from slavery? Slavery in the United States began in 1619 and lasted until 1865, along the middle passage where they would trade guns and rum for slaves in Africa. The slaves were subjected to horrible conditions on the way to America, forced into cramped spaces where sickness could spread. When they reached land, they would work as slaves in horrible conditions, working from day until night. They were dehumanized, stripped of their rights, treated as property, and put through tough circumstances. Enslaved people would not take these conditions for long, however, and began resisting. Enslaved people resisted their enslavement by refusing to do work, running away, and fighting back, and

According to The Creole Case, by William Young Lewis(Document A),” That when about 130 miles to the northeast of the Hole in the wall, the slaves, or a part thereof, on board of said vessel, rose on the officers, crew, and passengers, killing 1 passenger, severely wounded the captain. and part of the crew;”. This quote shows how the slaves fought their enslavers to resist their enslavement and regain their stolen freedom. When they attacked the crew and took over the ship, they committed an act of mutiny which is an example of fighting back. Consider the following from The Creole Case, by William Young Lewis, “Once in Nassau, the pilot who came on board the ship was acting under the legal authority of the island. He.told the slaves they were freemen”. This means that the slaves on board were able to go free after taking over the ship and piloting it toward an island that didn’t allow slavery. They had successfully resisted their enslavement and were once again freemen for generations to

One of the ways they would have resisted their enslavement was by running away, which would be one of the more risky ways. They would try to escape their plantation in hopes of becoming free; they would risk being caught and put into harsh working conditions. This topic matters because it gives a reason as to why there is racism today. People back then understood that enslaving one another was a bad thing, and so they made an excuse by claiming that people with darker skin colors were less than human. Even though slavery is abolished today, we are still facing certain repercussions from the excuses used to justify slavery, which is the cause of racism against black people. the floor in my room for about two weeks”. This quote shows how he had stopped working for 2 weeks due to him being “sick” so his master wouldn’t put him to work as a slave. He would be willing to pretend to be sick for weeks on end, perhaps limiting his food intake in order to avoid working for his master. In this, he is also risking the deterioration of his health to resist working for his master and for discontinuing his cycle of dehumanization and work. Consider the following from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass, “I spent the whole week without the