Can you believe, it took the idealism of the revolutionary era to inform some white Americans that black emancipation was really alive, and that it was present. African Americans were allowed to testify in court. I did not know that at the time of slavery, slaves could say what they wanted to in court. I thought slaves had to shut up, and keep their mouths quiet. Even after African Americans went through war, and were Freeman as they were called, they had a right to fight in war. African Americans were extolled for doing well in the war. Not every black male African American was eligible to fight in the war, and maybe that's why African American were extolled if they had done well. Doing well in a war was a good representation for the African Americans.
On July 4, 1776, the first black man stood up and told their slave master that they were done. The slave told their master that they would no longer be work for a white American. When slaves fought in the war, they did not only fight for their country but they fought for the liberty of themselves. After a while white Americans started to notice that African Americans were to have the same right as they had. Even though Americans knew that, they did not do a thing about it. In the book on the history of African Americans, it states that there was a black slave named Salem poor, he asked his slave master to free him so that he could fight in the wars that occurred. Salem's master Sullivan freed him. Salem became a good soldier and a good fighter. Fourteen officers wanted to reward him for his wonderful work, congress didn't give him a thing. I don't understand this. Why is it the congress that never liked the African Americans? Even though Salem was a free black African American, congress still did not reward him. That's just so sad, it's not just. Throughout the whole time of slavery, congress was not just.
Americans thought that letting go of slaves would have been a burden. Setting slaves free would have been a public expense, which is what Americans thought. Some Americans said that even though it might have been fair to let the slaves go, they thought they couldn't do anything. Some people thought that slavery was going to be socially disruptive. In the Northern states, they believed that slavery wasn't a big problem, after some years, the northern states decided to abolish slavery. The new idea of abolishing slavery expanded and the south still disagreed with letting slaves go. Many southern states started to think about setting slaves free. States had debates on whether they should abolish slavery. The southern states need the African Americans so that they could work on the plantation. The was a disparity between the south and the North. The disparity was that the North didn't need slaves on their plantation, but the Southern states did.
Africans Americans pushed to be free, to have equal right as Americans. They made groups that would talk about their freedom. At this moment in the book, what's happening that I see is a pattern is that slaves, specifically males, are going to their slave masters and telling them that they want to be free. Even thought the African Americans are being set free, from slavery, they really aren't free at the end of the day. Slaves still have a restriction, or a limit on them, and that's not being free. Freed slaves don't have he right to take office, and not even get an award, for their accomplishments that may be some Americans can't reach, or do and get rewarded for it. According to the book, To make our world anew, it's showing me that as time went by slaves are a step closer to being free, but at the same time , it tells me that even though they are being called a freed slave, they really aren't a freed slave, because they don't have the total freedom, liberty, or full rights that Americans have.
• Quote
"Why do you hon'd sir, wish those poor men so much trouble as to carry me [on] so long a voyage? Upon my arrival, how like a Barbarian shou'd I look to the Natives; I can promise that my tongue shall be quiet for a strong reason indeed, being an utter stranger to the Language.... Now to be serious, This undertaking appears too hazardous and [ I am] not sufficiently Eligible to go- And leave my British & American friends."
( page 112, Kelley & Lewis)
• Reaction
This quote is a little tricky. Before this quote, it states that this quote was said by a slave, but I don't think of it that way. It appears to be that this quote was said by a white American. Two black Africans wanted to go back to Africa, where they would have a tactic to make freedom come alive for African Americans. The only way that they could complete that mission was by going back to their homeland and regroup and give all these ideas of how they can be set free. Wheatley was asked to come along, but she turned them done by saying that she can't go. I wouldn't want to leave my friends that I knew for my whole life and go somewhere different and not even comprehend the language. I agree with Wheatley. According to the book, it stated that black Americans agreed to what Wheatley's response was. Even though there was a war that was about to take place, Wheatley stayed and the war even opened up door for the black Americans. On final note, Wheatley did the right thing, and if I was in that situation, I wouldn't go, because you never know the punishment that you could receive if you are caught taking the African Americans away from the place that they should be. I also like the dialect that was used in this quote, even though I couldn't understand something like hon'd: I have no idea what in the world that's suppose to mean.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
To make our world anew, 93 pages
It's surprising to know that African American were not all enslaved. While reading, I learned that some African Americans were born free; black and you're not enslaved. Growing up I always that thought that in the nineteenth hundredths and in previous years all African Americans were born into slavery. It's ironic that in 1617, African Americans had their own settlement in Mexico. Who would have thought that African Americans had their own settlement in Mexico, that's very surprising. The color of my skin originated from those that worked in intense heat and sunlight. African Americans skin dark sin color was to protect them from the sun. I don't see how darn skin complexion is going to protect you from the sun. Growing up I always believed that being in the sun if you're black is just going to make you gain a darker skin tone.
While reading, the book "To make our world anew", talks of how African Americans brought strong traditions with them. They would tell when harvest time would be, they would tell the name of a new born and so much more. If Africa Americans were capable of so many things, then why were they looked down on as if they were trash? The looking down upon may not occur as much as it did now, but it's still here. Now I see why many African Americans came from different places. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many African Americans came to the Americas, but were distributed to many place in the world. The most common; Latin America, the Caribbean, and Britain, which was like only five percent. This is why when I heard someone say well, I'm African American, and that there family was born in the United States, someone said that their family had to come from somewhere else besides the United States of America.
Slaves had an opportunity to not be enslaved under some conditions. Who was to know that that even existed. The Spanish were the first people to give African Americans some of the rights that they deserved as according to the declaration of Independence.
When slaves were carried to others states to be owned by slaveowners, they would travel on a ship. Traveling on a ship for the Africa Americans, was a hard thing. There was very little space. African Americans were dying day by day in the ships. After African Americans were dead by diseases and infections , their bodies would be thrown into the river with sharks. African Americans were getting tired of living in the terrible conditions that they were in while on the ships. Some people decided to just give up and commit suicide by throwing themselves overboard. Mothers would even feel so down where they would throw their babies overboard.
African Americans depended upon each other. Music was a big part of their tradition. Africans had many languages, and they found help from each other. When African Americans migrated from one place to another they adopted languages forms different places. Many African Americans decided that they would stick with their religious views from growing up, but some African Americans who left Africa when they were very young, or were born in the new world would accept the whites religious views.
Many African Americans wanted to rebel against slave masters, but the task and punishment was a hard thing to accomplish. Africans would burn down house of whites or they would poison whites while cooking in the kitchen. If a slave didn't get away with their ways of revenge, then slave masters would treat them with horrible acts, and acts of their own, for example putting shackles on the slaves, or even whipping them. Masters even went as far as putting masks over the slaves face so that they couldn't sneak any food to put in their mouth.
While reading, the book "To make our world anew", talks of how African Americans brought strong traditions with them. They would tell when harvest time would be, they would tell the name of a new born and so much more. If Africa Americans were capable of so many things, then why were they looked down on as if they were trash? The looking down upon may not occur as much as it did now, but it's still here. Now I see why many African Americans came from different places. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many African Americans came to the Americas, but were distributed to many place in the world. The most common; Latin America, the Caribbean, and Britain, which was like only five percent. This is why when I heard someone say well, I'm African American, and that there family was born in the United States, someone said that their family had to come from somewhere else besides the United States of America.
Slaves had an opportunity to not be enslaved under some conditions. Who was to know that that even existed. The Spanish were the first people to give African Americans some of the rights that they deserved as according to the declaration of Independence.
When slaves were carried to others states to be owned by slaveowners, they would travel on a ship. Traveling on a ship for the Africa Americans, was a hard thing. There was very little space. African Americans were dying day by day in the ships. After African Americans were dead by diseases and infections , their bodies would be thrown into the river with sharks. African Americans were getting tired of living in the terrible conditions that they were in while on the ships. Some people decided to just give up and commit suicide by throwing themselves overboard. Mothers would even feel so down where they would throw their babies overboard.
African Americans depended upon each other. Music was a big part of their tradition. Africans had many languages, and they found help from each other. When African Americans migrated from one place to another they adopted languages forms different places. Many African Americans decided that they would stick with their religious views from growing up, but some African Americans who left Africa when they were very young, or were born in the new world would accept the whites religious views.
Many African Americans wanted to rebel against slave masters, but the task and punishment was a hard thing to accomplish. Africans would burn down house of whites or they would poison whites while cooking in the kitchen. If a slave didn't get away with their ways of revenge, then slave masters would treat them with horrible acts, and acts of their own, for example putting shackles on the slaves, or even whipping them. Masters even went as far as putting masks over the slaves face so that they couldn't sneak any food to put in their mouth.
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