Nick Parinella
History 205
Professor
McKinney
October 16,
2014
Reaction
Paper 2- Bringing Back Humanity
Throughout slavery, slave owners did
everything in their power to dehumanize the slaves. During this process, they
would treat the slaves like products so they would feel that they were no
different than a commodity. This was successful while turning humans into
slaves. However, as time went on, slaves started gaining back their sense of
humanity. The slaves began forming their own culture, creating a sense of
community and family with each other, practicing religion, and figuring out
their identity by telling stories. Slave owners did not like the idea of slaves
being seen as people. They tried to hide the fact that slaves had lives and
were human just like everyone else. That’s why in history slavery is not talked
about in depth and is swept under the rug. It appears people believed that if
you ignore it long enough then it is like it never happened. But slavery did
happen and it was a very real thing. Over the past few hundred years, people
did not speak of how much the slaves contributed in developing our nation. It
was intentional that the slaves were left out of stories about crucial points
and events in America. Slave owners tried their hardest to ignore the fact that
slaves were humans, but obviously, slaves are humans. No matter how hard people
tried to view them as commodities, slaves began regaining their humanity.
The constitution is a major example
of our founding fathers disregarding slavery. The act of slavery is discussed
throughout the constitution, but the actual word slavery is not used once[1].
With slaves having such a large impact on developing our nation, it is hard to
believe that they were not considered equivalent to everyone else. Slavery was
so important to our country that the constitution actually had six clauses that
directly concerned slaves and their owners and five that had implications of
slavery[2].
Slaves knew that they were significant and did not like that they were
dehumanized. They began fighting back by demanding their freedom and natural
rights during the American Revolution. It was ironic during this time that
people were fighting for their freedom, but restricting it from blacks[3]. It
seems odd that some slaves joined the army to fight for their slave owner’s
freedom. However, they did not join because they wanted their slave owners to
gain their liberty and independence. The last thing the slaves cared about was
the happiness of the men that were taking away their lives. They fought in the
war because they were promised their freedom afterwards. Also, fighting in the
war was better to some than having to work all day for a slave owner. After
doing the same labor day-after-day for years, it is almost a relief to be able
to change one’s routine and try something different. The slaves used the
opportunity of war during the American Revolution to get out of slavery and get
their lives back.
Slaves also used culture as a way of
humanizing themselves. Commodities and products have no lives or ways of life.
Through the creation of African-American culture, the slaves were able to feel
more human-like. Song, dance, and religion are characteristics of their created
culture, and it was something that slave owners could not take away from them[4].
Since the slaves were so far from their homeland, they held on to certain
traditions that did not involve things from Africa. These traditions mixed with
American traditions, which created African-American culture. With this mixture
of beliefs and traditions, blacks and whites began attending churches together.
In Major Problems in African-American
History, it states, “the Baptist excitement began as a mixed black-white
phenomenon, and whites who had lifetimes of intimate association with blacks
did not regard it as strange that this new religious experience was a shared
one”[5].
Religion was a commonality in both black and white culture that brought them
together. It may not have been much, but it was a start to blacks becoming
equal. After years of serving whites and being looked down upon, slaves being
able to attend church and praise God with white people was a big step for them.
Blacks attending church with whites reveals that the separation between human
and commodity begins to happen. For example, people do not go to church and
praise God alongside their lawn mower, but they praise with other human beings.
This is a moment where whites view blacks as humans and respect their beliefs.
A crucial part of slavery is slaves
having their voices, lives, and families taken away from them. If they do not
have feelings or emotions then it is easier for whites to treat them as
property rather than humans. This is a reason that slaves are not discussed
very often in the history and foundation of America. Whites tried to smother
their voices and actions because they were only viewed as commodities that
helped along the way. The problem was that even though slave owners tried to
dehumanize and commoditize the slaves, it was physically impossible. The
reality of it, though, is that slaves were humans and nothing could change
that, regardless of how people treated them. Slaves still found ways to voice their
stories and make their impact on this nation known. The book Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York is a
great example of bringing a slaves perspective into modern times. York was a
slave who traveled with and helped Lewis and Clark on their expedition[6]. Not
many people know about him because Clark purposely left him out of the stories[7].
With this book of poems being published, York, a slave, is finally able to have
his voice heard. Even though it is hundreds of years later, his story is not
forgotten. Instead of just stating that York travelled with Lewis and Clark,
this book reveals his point of view and brings a new perspective to the
expedition. The poems in the book bring to reality the emotions and thoughts of
a slave that was considered property. This point of view makes him appear as a
person rather than a commodity. There was also a story told in Major Problems in African-American History about
a slave who resisted a beating. His owner beat him earlier in the day for
collapsing from heat exhaustion, but later that night when the owner tried to
tie him up, he decided he had enough. The slave ended up beating his master and
making him bleed[8]. This story shows that
even though slaves are considered property, they still have human emotions.
Instead of allowing the slave owner to hurt him, his instinct as a person was
to resist. He gained confidence in himself as he hurt his owner more and more.
This little act of resistance helped him gain his manhood back after being a
slave his whole life. This story along with multiple others of slaves fighting
back are examples of slaves trying to earn their humanity back with violence.
Slavery was a low point in America
for human beings. It did develop America into the place it is today, but it was
done by forcing Africans into slavery. Slave owners commoditized humans into
property and sold them. Regardless of how slaves were treated, they began to
create their humanity again. They were tired of being viewed as commodities and
used different tactics to regain their status as people. During the American
Revolution, slaves would fight in the army for the possibility of gaining
liberty and equality. As time went on, Africa-American culture brought people
together. Whites and blacks would attend church together and worship the same
God. The mixture of two cultures helped bring equality between the two races.
Another way slaves would keep their humanity was through stories about their
lives and their impacts on the nation. Slave owners did everything they could
to dehumanize slaves, but they were humans, too, and found ways to make that
known.
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