1. Up from Slavery

2. The Slave Narratives  The characteristics:  First hand accounts  Written or recorded by slaves  Tales of journeys from enslavement in the south to freedom in the north  Detailed records of the physical and mental oppression

3. Slave Narratives  The majority of the narratives were written during the Civil War.  Anti-slavery newspapers and journals published the narratives.  The narratives are historical documents that chronicle the perils of slavery.  Some of the narratives are autobiographical tales that are still in existence.

4. Slave Narratives Cont.  The slave narratives mark the beginning of the African American Literary Movement in the US.

5. Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)  One of the best-known author’s of the slave narratives.  His autobiography was published in 1845 and titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.  Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland.

6. Douglass cont.  He was never sure of exact age.  He didn’t receive any formal education, but he did teach himself to read and write.  The people that he worked for were instrumental in helping him learn.  At 21 years old he escaped to Massachusettes.

7. Douglass Cont.  While in Massachusetts, Douglass got married and began speaking out against slavery.  His speeches supported abolitionist principles.  He went to England to escape possible persecution for being a fugitive.  In England he won support for the anti- slavery movement and some friends purchased his freedom.

8. Douglass continued again!  In 1847 when Douglass founded a newspaper called The North Star.  The name was chosen because escaped slaves used the North Star as a guide to freedom in the north.  In 1855 Douglass published a revised version of his autobiography called My Bondage my Freedom.

9.  His narratives were widely read and beneficial to the abolitionist cause.  After the Civil War he advocated for education as a means to rehabilitate scarred people.  He is admired today for the eloquence of his writing style.

10. Harriet A. Jacobs (1813-1897)  Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery in Edenton, NC.  She was an orphan by the age of six.  She was trained to be a house servant by her mistress.  She was taught how to read and write.  When her mistress died she was willed to niece of her mistress.

11. Jacob’s Cont.  Her life was difficult when she moved into the home of James Norcom.  He subjected her to abuse and repeated harassment.  When she would refuse his advances, he sent her to the field to do hard labor as a plantation slave.  She was separated from her young children for about seven years.

12. Jacobs Cont.  She escaped and found shelter with friends.  In her grandmother’s house in Edenton, she hid for seven years in the crawl space.  She watched her children grow from a distance because Norcom sold them and they were living with her grandmother.  In 1842, Jacobs escaped to New York where she was reunited with her children.

13.  In 1852 she finally gained her freedom after living as a fugitive for ten years.  She began writing her story in 1853 and published it herself in 1861.  She used the pen name Linda Brent.  She worked tirelessly to relieve the suffering and poverty of other slaves.

14. Review  Study notes on Frederick Douglass  Harriet Jacobs  Review vocabulary on pg. 415 (also include diction and purpose)  Review vocabulary on pg. 425 (also include style and dialect)  Review questions on Equiano (sheet and vocabulary)  Test will be on Friday 2-22-13