Evan Cuccia
Reaction
Paper #2
As slavery took hold in America,
those who fell victim to the harsh institution faced a challenge. Seeing as
slavery was woven into the very foundation of the United States, the enslaved
could either accept their fate or fight to change it. Through an examination of
the recent class material, one can gain a more clear understanding of slavery’s
place in American society and the ways slaves persevered in light of that.
The selected readings from Slavery’s Constiution, reveal how deeply the institution
of slavery was engrained in American culture in the late 1700s and what little
action was being taken to bring an end to it. In the Prologue of Slavery’s Constitution, titled “Meaningful Silences,”
the author discusses the original Constitution and the ways it slyly bolstered
slavery in the United States. The chapter explains that while the esteemed
document never explicitly mentioned slavery, “the framers and their
constituents created fundamental laws that sustained human bondage.”[1]
For instance, Article I featured the Three-Fifths Compromise, which indirectly
stated that slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a whole free person in
state population calculations.[2]
Not only did the Compromise serve as proof that slaves were not considered
fully human, but it encouraged slavery. By allowing state governments to
include slaves in the total number that would determine taxation and
representation, the Constitution paved the way for an increase in the number
bodies owned. The Constitution opened doors for slaves states again in Article
IV, with the inclusion of the Full Faith and Credit Doctrine. Under this
clause, all runaway slaves were to be considered criminals and returned to the
state from which they fled, giving the states full power over their slaves.[3]
Through an analysis of the Constitution, one can see that slavery was very
carefully placed just below the surface of the document.[4] Without
ever using the word “slavery” or “slave,” Madison wrote extensively on the
subject all throughout the Constitution, and this becomes clear in Slavery’s Constitution.[5] The
Chapter concludes, that it was with “silence, compromise, and artful design”
that the framers turned a blind eye to the issue of slavery.[6]
With the country’s most coveted document failing to mention the problem,
slavery carried on as usual. In conjunction with Slavery’s Constitution, the remaining sources paint a
picture of what the slaves chose to do in response.
As the institution pushed on, some
slaves began to stand their ground. By the late eighteenth century, slaves were
running away, staging rebellions, appealing to religious ideals, writing
petitions, and even joining the army in return for their freedom.[7]
An example of this can be found in the African
American Voices reading,
specifically in the petition written by the slaves of Fairfield County,
Connecticut. The petition, addressed to the assembly in 1779, argued that
slavery was fundamentally unjust and should be removed from the state.[8]
The author of the document asserts that slaves, like their white masters, are
children of God and thus, deserve equal freedoms.[9] The slave
then goes on to ask: “Can your Honours any longer Suffer, this great Evil to
prevail, under your Government?” While the slave’s plea seems convincing to a
modern audience, it was quickly shot down by both houses. When attempts such as
this were ignored, some slaves turned to a more pro-active approach. For
example, Document 19 of the African
American Voices
excerpt, tells of a slave revolt planned by Solomon’s brother, Gabriel, against
the white slave-holders of Virginia.[10] Via this
source, one can see the different efforts slaves were making in order to obtain
their freedom. While a number of them were able to escape, whether it be
through abolition or revolt, many were left with no choice but to cope with
their bondage.
Those who remained enslaved,
recognized that holding onto their humanity would be necessary for survival.
With this, came the birth of the Afro-American culture and the rise of a
hybrid, slave religion. Chapter Four of Major
Problems shows that
culture fostered a sense of community among the enslaved peoples. By
incorporating their African pasts into their American lives, they created a
slave specific culture that provided them with family ties and a set of common
beliefs.[11]
The African
American Christianity
chapter explains that religion was a major facet of this slave culture. The
source describes the evolution of a religion that combined Christian practices
and traditional African beliefs. For instance, their meetings would serve as a
time for gathering and worshiping as in the Christian Church, but also as a
place for dancing and singing, which was a typically African characteristic.[12]
By bonding elements of Africa and America to create a culture and subsequently,
a religion, the slaves were able to establish an identity for themselves
outside of slavery.
It is in Buffalo Dance that readers can see these
aspects of slavery come alive. Through York’s account of the Lewis and Clark
voyage, one can gain useful insight into the slave experience. By bringing
York’s voice to the forefront, the book inserts slavery into an iconic tale,
raising the question: If York was present for one of the most significant
journeys in American history, why is he rarely mentioned?[13] Like the
framers of the Constitution, Lewis and Clark felt no need to mention slaves,
instead, it is York’s poems that situate him in this particular moment in
history. In “Cold Hearted,” York contemplates his lesser than status. Pointing
out that while his master was dressed in “warm stockings/long underwear, army
boots/an coat a fur,” he had “walked holes in [his] shoes” and was beginning to
“come down with the frost/on [his] feets an [privates].”[14] Like
other slaves, York yearned for his freedom, imagining it to “be like having a
whole sky to yourself,” but he knew that even running away would not save him
from the shackles.[15]
In “Electorate,” York explains that even when he was awarded a vote, he was not
equal to the white men.[16]
While York acknowledges the struggles of being a slave, it is clear that he
never turns over his humanity to the institution, seeing as the book is riddled
with talk of women, religion, love, and black identity.[17] In
“Cumulonimbus,” York exclaims: “it take something African/to stand in the rain
an smile/while it storming all ‘round.”[18] A quote
that in sum, exemplifies the resistance of the slaves to ever fully surrender
themselves to the institution.
Together, these sources serve as a
testament to the resilience of the slave population. Regardless of how much
society ignored the problem, the slaves made their presence known. The sources
demonstrate that by submitting petitions, organizing rebellions, and banding
together as a cohesive group, the slaves brought the issue out of the dark and
into the public eye. Moreover, the readings show that in building a communal
culture, the slaves expressed their willingness not only to survive, but to
grow. It is with this knowledge, that one can begin to piece together the
complex topic that is slavery in the United States.
[1] David Waldstreicher, Slavery’s Constitution:
From Revolution to Ratification
(New York: Hill and Wang, 2009), 3.
[2] Waldstreicher, Slavery’s Constitution, 4.
[3] Waldstreicher, Slavery’s Constitution, 8.
[4] Charles McKinney, “Slavery in
America,” (Lecture, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, October 2, 2014).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Waldstreicher, Slavery’s Constitution, 19.
[7] Charles McKinney, “Slavery in
America,” (Lecture, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, October 2, 2014).
[8] Steve Mintz, African American Voices:
The Life Cycle of Slavery
(New York: Brandywine Press, 2004), 89.
[9] Mintz, African American Voices, 90.
[10] Mintz, African American Voices, 94.
[11] Charles McKinney, “African American
Culture,” (Lecture, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, October 7, 2014).
[12] Paul Johnson, editor, African American
Christianity: Essays in History
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 31.
[13] Charles McKinney, “Buffalo Dance,”
(Lecture, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, October 14, 2014).
[14] Frank X Walker, Buffalo Dance: The Journey
of York (Lexington:
University of Kentucky Press, 2004), 49.
[17] McKinney, “Buffalo Dance.”
No comments:
Post a Comment