Words the World Was Not Ready

             Words the World Was Not Ready to Hear
             The period of slavery in America and issues surrounding slavery, such as the inhumane treatment of colored people, division of the Union and the Civil War, can perhaps be considered the darkest period in American history. A great number of Africans were transported to this country and any children they had while in captivity were used as a means of free labor and slavery continued to be, for the most part, an accepted way of life in America for over 200 years. Slavery was infecting all parts of the nation, yet towards the end of its institution it was more prominent in the South. American literary works were beginning to take form and develop unique characteristics throughout this period in history. Three black women, one a pampered, indulged house slave taken as a child, one born into slavery and another a free-born woman, provided a foundation for other black women writers to publish their lives and feelings during a time of turmoil in the country. Phillis Wheatley, Harriet Jacobs and Frances Harper were profound authors, providing readers with a glimpse of the experiences of the African-American woman during the slavery period of America.
             "The chains of the American Negro's captivity were forged in Africa." (Blassingame, 1). Regardless of the title of the individual, Africans were swept up in the slave trade to work sugar fields and cotton and tobacco plantations in the New World. The enslavement process was painful for Africans. "Completely cut off from their native land", the Africans were terrified by the white man's civilization and cruelty, until they learned they were expected only to work for them, as they did in their native land (2). Many slaves on the ships coming from Africa committed suicide by drowning or refusing to eat. Surviving people were chosen by perspective owners, then branded as proof of ownership (6).
             The plantation offered...

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Words the World Was Not Ready. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 19:05, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/71238.html