Many have written and argued that Slavery was a Sin of the South. I would argue most strongly that Slavery was NOT a Sin of the South; It was the Sin of a Nation. The simple picture of Slavery as a Southern Sin does not reflect the much broader participation, exploitation and profit in Slavery as an Enterprise.
The Slave Ship was owned by a New York Slave Trader, It was full of Native African Men, Women, and Children, and it was delivering the Cargo to be sold in the South.
My belief is that few today could look at these images, and read the accompanying story without being appalled, repulsed, and even outraged.
A time to imaging: Look at the picture of these people, created by God and in his image, packed onto this ship like cattle. Gaze at the image, and then spend several minutes reflecting on what it must have been like to be crammed onto a ship so tightly that you could not lie down, so tightly that you could hardly breathe. Think of the sounds of the dying all around, the stench of the diseased and deprived hanging in the air, and the utter hopelessness of the situation.
The facts of the conditions on the Slave Ship are quiet disturbing. This picture tells us of how fellow men intentionally insult mankind. However, the newspaper report is in a light-hearted, fashion. I think the article describes lacks the indignation and passion that one would think would be associated with being an eye-witness to such a human catastrophe because it is not really make certain the intelligence, and presumably the worth of these people. Also when the people appear to be praying, or praising God, it could be mistaken that the people could not be aware of God.
The plantation culture of the south helped to create demand for slaves, rich northerners were more than happy to use their ships and wealth to trade in slaves for profit, and then the popular press, potentially influenced by the wealthy that were benefiting from the slave trade, appears to have been willing to simply look the other way.

Am I not a Man and a Brother?

When we mainly here about ablotionism, we think United States, but it was a worlwide phenomenon. The first steps ever taken against slavery are recognized to have taken place in Great Britain through different court cases. The picture above was representative of the British abolitionist movement, and was later used by other countries in their fight against slavery. It was created by Josiah Wedgewood, and became quickly very famous, if not trendy, as it was used in jewelry, and snuff boxes.

It shows the picture of an African American slave down on one knee, enchained and looking up at probably what we could guess to be his master. His hands are linked together, as if he was imploring help, or compassion regarding his situation. Some see in his almost-total-nudity a representation of freedom and purity.

Before being an embleme of the abolitionist movement in Great Britain, and later around the world, this image was a medallion. Indeed, it is considered to be the first and most recognizable image of the 18th century abolitionist movement.

The most symbolic part about this picture is however the text that underlines it. It says "Am I nnot a Man and a Brother?". This sentence symbolizes a great protest against race inequality. Through this rhetorical question, the author of the medallion answers it. He implies that African American slaves are men and human, similarly to White people. They have nothing in difference but their skin color, and that should not be a reason to prevent them from their liberty.

Sojourner Truth and her legacy.

Sojourner Truth.

One of the most powerful, influential, and respected women of history and yet, she did not know how to read or write. As Secretary Clinton mentions in the YouTube video, Truth at one point counted President Lincoln and President Grant as acquaintances. Sojourner Truth and her journey really cannot be summed up by words, but I will try. She was courageous, heroic, audacious, majestic, candid, honorable, considerate and intelligent. Only to name a few adjectives of the many that describe Sojourner Truth. In 2009, Truth became the first black woman honored with a bust in the United States Capitol, created by world-renowned artist Artis Lane. I cannot begin to imagine how proud she was looking down from Heaven at the first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, at Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee, at Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the nation’s first black First Lady, Michelle Obama. As Mrs. Obama says in the video, isn’t it incredible that she is the wife of the Commander in Chief and Leader of the Free World and also a descendant of slaves? That awesome fact is able to be a reality because of the work of Sojourner Truth. Her perseverance, her hard labor, her brave speeches, her endless efforts all have led to a more free, more just society we now know today. Sojourner Truth could have easily seen herself as suppressed, defeated and degraded, because frankly, she endured some of humanity’s worst actions. However, she rose above the evil and the hatred to fight tirelessly for what was right. Whenever we feel down or depressed about something in our lives, we must look to Sojourner. She will inspire us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtmTEiTDBeg

--Townsend

Slavery in America

After looking at several videos about slavery, I stumbled on to this one. It caught my attention because it did not have any sound. I read along and saw the pictures and I found it to be much more interesting. The video contains many facts and its hard to believe the condition that slaves lived in, as the pictures show. I saw a lot of familiar faces and even some familiar book titles. Although there is no sound to the video, reading the slides made me understand a great deal about slavery.

HMMR

Reward: Run Away Slaves

By: Jake Robinson

I was inspired by the last post to put up this particular picture. Evidently, this is a poster put up by a white slaveholder in St. Louis, Missouri. The man who made this poster is offering a $200 reward for anyone who finds his African-American slaves. These five slaves are an African-American family, consisting of one man, one woman, and three children. Following the major title gives the names of these people, and a basic description of what their characteristics and physical appearance. I figured that this picture was prevalent to our class because we have seen posters similar to this one in the texts we have read. For example, at the end of Chapter XVII in Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, there is a description of a poster describing a runaway slave that is very similar to the poster above. I think it is important to see and to understand this part of slavery because it truly shows how relentless and how ruthless slaveholder were. It shows that slaveholders were truly evil by taking a fellow man, and making him property. It shows that they did not value their fellow men, or women, and that their hearts were like stone. It is very important to not overlook this minor aspect of slavery because it also lets us know that slaves were literally running away from their slaveholders. Let it be through the Underground Railroad, or let it be on their own, some slaves got very fed up and just grabbed there things and left. Some were fortunate enough to escape, and some were not so fortunate. Upon being returned to a hellish life was a harsh punishment for attempting to escape. I feel that although this is a small detail in slavery, these posters can really reveal a great deal about slavery.

Slaves For Sale

This advertisement makes me think. I look at this advertisement and find it almost unbelievable, especially because of the time period I've been raised in. Growing up, slavery was not enforced and actually was long gone, but this one advertisement almost belittles me, even though I don't even know what it feels like to be an African American, back in those days. To think that human beings, African Americans, the same people we see on the daily basis at local stores, jobs and school, were being sold, period is probably the most disturbing of all of the slavery images I have seen. To think that with &1200 dollars I can buy a Macbook and back then, you could have bought me with that same money, strikes a nerve. It's so weird to think humans were equivalent to mere objects. There was a time when human beings shared the worth of a laptop...not even a luxury car or a home, or even a used car, but just a lap top. There's actually lap tops out there worth more than the costs of slaves back then. There was actually a time when this existed and these very advertisements were considered normal, and actually people could be bought, sold, and traded. No human life is equal to money. A human's life is far more valuable and precious than anything that money can buy. It is a life, given by the divine that no one should be able to sell, buy or trade. But it did happen and it was actually considered normal at one point in time. Though this image is moving to me, and a bit disturbing, I can also be happy to know that this cruelty and unreal advertisement no longer exists and human life means much more than mere $1200 now.

Abolitionist Movement

BY: KYLE RISSER

I came across this picture when I was searching abolitionist movement on Google. I thought it was quite interesting how it pertains to this time period and the presidential election. At the time, the four presidential candidates were Abraham Lincoln, John Bell, John C. Breckinridge, and Stephen Douglas. There is some fine print which may be hard for some to read, but each of the presidential candidates are saying as follows; John Bell- “Bless my soul I give up”, John C. Breckinridge- “that long legged abolitionist is getting ahead of us after all”, Stephen Douglas- “I’ve never run so in my life”. This picture is portraying how Abraham Lincoln was gaining momentum in the 1860 presidential campaign. This was because of the fact that he decided to become a supporter of the abolitionist movement. It was also slightly before the beginning of the only civil war fought in the history of the United States. Lincoln was a central figure for the whole nation, or should I say nations at the time. He was dedicated to maintaining the union and not having a division of states. Eventually he was elected as the 16^th president of the United States, and many believe it was because of the fact that he was an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery throughout the nation. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated after the war had ended and all of his hard work had paid off on April 14, 1865. He is still one of the most infamous icons within the history of America, and his work as president is recognized as one of the most significant stepping stones since our country was founded.