List of Figures x
Series Editors' Preface xi
Preface to the New Edition xiii
Preface xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 ''Death's Gwineter Lay His Cold Icy Hands on Me'': Enslavement 40
1 A European Slave Trader, John Barbot, Describes the African Slave Trade (1682) 42
2 A Muslim Merchant, Ayubah Suleiman Diallo, Recalls His Capture and Enslavement (1733) 45
3 An Employee of Britain's Royal African Company Describes the Workings of the Slave Trade (1738) 48
4 Olaudah Equiano, an 11-Year-Old Ibo from Nigeria, Remembers His Kidnapping into Slavery (1789) 49
5 A Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park, Offers a Graphic Account of the African Slave Trade (1797) 51
6 Venture Smith Relates the Story of His Kidnapping at the Age of Six (1798) 52
Chapter 2 ''God's A-Gwineter Trouble de Water'': The Middle Passage and Arrival 57
1 A European Slave Trader, James Barbot, Jr., Describes a Shipboard Revolt by Enslaved Africans (1700) 59
2 Olaudah Equiano, Who Was Born in Eastern Nigeria, Describes the Horrors of the Middle Passage (1789) 62
3 A Doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes Conditions on an English Slaver (1788) 65
4 Olaudah Equiano Describes His Arrival in the New World (1789) 70
5 An English Physician, Alexander Falconbridge, Describes the Treatment of Newly Arrived Slaves in the West Indies (1788) 71
Chapter 3 ''A Change is Gonna Come'': Slavery in the Era of the American Revolution 74
1 The Poet Phillis Wheatley Writes about Freedom and Equal Rights (1774) 75
2 Massachusetts Slaves Petition for Freedom (1774) 76
3 Virginia's Royal Governor Promises Freedom to Slaves Who Join the British Army (1775) 78
4 Virginia's Assembly Denounces Lord Dunmore's Proclamation (1775) 79
5 Connecticut Slaves Petition for Freedom (1779) 80
6 Boston King, a Black Loyalist, Seeks Freedom Behind British Lines (1798) 82
7 A Participant in Gabriel's Rebellion Explains Why He Took Part in the Attempted Insurrection (1812) 84
8 Gabriel's Brother Explains the Rebellion's Objectives (1800) 84
9 President Thomas Jefferson Tries to Arrange for the Deportation of Men Involved in Gabriel's Rebellion (1802) 85
Chapter 4 ''We Raise de Wheat, Dey Gib Us de Corn'': Conditions of Life 87
1 A Free Black Kidnapped from New York, Solomon Northrup, Describes the Working Conditions of Slaves on a Louisiana Cotton Plantation (1853) 88
2 Charles Ball, a Slave in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia, Compares Working Conditions on Tobacco
and Cotton Plantations (1858) 89
3 Josiah Henson, a Maryland Slave, Describes Slave Housing, Diet, and Clothing (1877) 91
4 Francis Henderson, Who Was a Slave near Washington, D.C., Describes Living Conditions Under Slavery (1856) 93
5 A South Carolina Slave, Jacob Stroyer, Recalls the Material Conditions of Slave Life (1898) 94
6 A Former Virginia Slave, James Martin, Remembers a Slave Auction (1937) 95
7 Elizabeth Keckley, Born into Slavery in Virginia, Describes a Slave Sale (1868) 96
Chapter 5 ''Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen'': Visual History of Slavery 98
1 The Inspection and Sale of an African Captive Along the West African Coast (1854) 99
2 An Illustration of the Layout of a Slave Ship (1807) 100
3 Enslaved Africans on the Deck of a Slave Ship (1860) 102
4 Two Slave Sale Advertisements (1859, c.1780s) 103
5 A Fugitive Slave Advertisement (1774) 105
6 An Illustration of a Slave Auction at Richmond, Virginia (1856) 107
7 Five Generations of a Slave Family (c.1850s) 108
8 An Engraving Illustrating Nat Turner's Insurrection (c.1831) 109
9 A Plantation Manual Offers Detailed Instructions to Overseers about How They Are to Treat Nursing Mothers (1857-1858) 110
10 African Americans in Baltimore Celebrate the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, Extending the Vote to Black Men (1870) 111
Chapter 6 ''O Mother Don't You Weep'': Women, Children, and Families 114
1 Harriet Jacobs Describes Her Efforts to Escape Verbal, Physical, and Sexual Abuse (1861) 115
2 Bethany Veney Describes How She Aborted a Slave Sale (1889) 119
3 Susie King Taylor Escapes to Freedom During the Civil War (1902) 121
4 Jacob Stroyer Recalls the Formative Experiences of His Childhood (1898) 123
5 James W. C. Pennington Analyzes the Impact of Slavery upon Childhood (1849) 126
6 Lunsford Lane Describes the Moment When He First Recognized the Meaning of Slavery (1842) 128
7 Laura Spicer Learns that Her Husband, Who Had Been Sold Away, Has Taken Another Wife (1869) 130
8 An Overseer Attempts to Rape Josiah Henson's Mother (1877) 132
9 Lewis Clarke Discusses the Impact of Slavery on Family Life (1846) 135
Chapter 7 ''Go Home to My Lord and Be Free'': Religion 138
1 Olaudah Equiano, from Eastern Nigeria, Describes West African Religious Beliefs and Practices (1789) 139
2 Charles Ball, a Slave in Maryland, Remembers a Slave Funeral, which Incorporated Traditional African Customs (1837) 142
3 Peter Randolph, a Former Virginia Slave, Describes the Religious Gatherings Slaves Held Outside of Their Masters' Supervision (1893) 142
4 Henry Bibb, Who Toiled in Slavery in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Discusses ''Conjuration'' (1849) 145
Chapter 8 ''Oppressed So Hard They Could Not Stand'': Punishment 148
1 Frederick Douglass, a Fugitive Slave from Maryland, Describes the Circumstances that Prompted Masters to Whip Slaves (1845) 149
2 Elizabeth Keckley of Virginia Describes a Lashing She Received (1868) 150
3 John Brown, Born into Slavery in Virginia, Has Bells and Horns Fastened on His Head (1855) 152
4 William Wells Brown, a Missouri Slave Driver, Is Tied Up in a Smokehouse (1847) 153
5 Moses Roper, a Slave in Georgia and the Carolinas, Is Punished for Attempting to Run Away (1837) 154
6 A Kentucky Slave, Lewis Clarke, Describes the Implements His Mistress Used to Beat Him (1846) 155
Chapter 9 ''Let My People Go'': Resistance and Flight 157
1 Frederick Douglass Resists a Slave Breaker (1845) 158
2 Nat Turner, a Baptist Preacher in Virginia, Describes His Revolt Against Slavery (1831) 163
3 Harriet Tubman, a Former Maryland Slave, Sneaks into the South to Free Slaves (1872) 167
4 Harriet Tubman's Life and Methods for Liberating Slaves (1863, 1865) 169
5 Levi Coffin, the ''President'' of the Underground Railroad, Assists Fugitives to Escape Slavery (1876) 172
6 A Maryland Slave, Margaret Ward, Follows the North Star to Freedom (1879) 174
7 Frederick Douglass Borrows a Sailor's Papers to Escape Slavery (1855, 1895) 177
8 Henry ''Box'' Brown of Virginia Escapes Slavery in a Sealed Box (1872) 179
9 Margaret Garner, a Fugitive Slave from Kentucky, Kills Her Daughter Rather Than See Her Returned to Slavery (1876) 181
Chapter 10 ''The Walls Came Tumblin' Down'': Emancipation 184
1 Hannah Johnson, the Mother of a Black Soldier, Pleads with President Abraham Lincoln Not to Rescind the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) 185
2 Private Thomas Long Assesses the Meaning of Black Military Service During the Civil War (1870) 186
3 Corporal Jackson Cherry Appeals for Equal Opportunity for Former Slaves (1865) 187
4 Jourdon Anderson, a former Tennessee Slave, Declines His Former Master's Invitation to Return to His Plantation (1865) 188
5 Major General Rufus Saxon Assesses the Freedmen's Aspirations (1866) 190
6 Colonel Samuel Thomas Describes the Attitudes of Ex-Confederates Toward the Freedmen (1865) 191
7 Francis L. Cardozo of South Carolina Asks for Land for the Freedmen (1868) 192
8 The Rev. Elias Hill Is Attacked by the Ku Klux Klan (1872) 193
9 Henry Blake, a Former Arkansas Slave, Describes Sharecropping (1937) 194
10 Frederick Douglass Assesses the Condition of the Freedmen (1880) 195
Bibliographical Essay 198
Bibliography 204
Index 236
