The African- American Slavery Narrative A brief introduction to American slavery and Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Slaves being sold at an auction. It was very, very common for entire families to be broken up and sold to different masters all across the South. Many people would never again see their family after the auction. The selling price of the average slave? $300

So why didn’t they escape? They tried. But it was incredibly dangerous. Slave owners did not want their property escaping, so they pursued escaped slaves. They would round up “posses” (large groups of men) and hunt down runaways. This often included tracking dogs, which slaves had a great fear of. Thanks to the Underground Railroad, many slaves were able to escape North. It’s estimated that 100,000 slaves were able to escape North, but most slaves were captured long before they ever reached their goal. Additionally, most successful escapes were by men. A family group like the one in this picture would have had much lower chances to succeed. Why do you think that is?

Not all white men and women supported slavery, however. Many of them wanted the slaves to be free. These people were called abolitionists, and they helped by supporting runaway slaves and arguing their cause. Meanwhile, many slaves wrote autobiographies that told of the horrors of slavery. These came to be known as slave narratives. Two of the most famous narratives Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Harriet Jacobs)