african american lit 1895

The voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies. 12 million slaves over 350 years US 6% of slaves but 60-70% Carribean+Brazil first 12 presidents owned slaves oceanic corridors of the triangulated slave trade from the 1500s to the early 1800s, during which abducted Africans were taken into European colonies of the AFrican diaspora; generally connotes journeys of enslaved peoples from their countries of origin into bondage in America. millions of africans died at sea from disease, torture, starvation and other atrocities in the middle passage these evacuations eventually formed a vast african diaspora that continues to inspire african american and other literatures.

Black Narratives passed down by oral tradition --self awareness --endurance Griot (African village historian)

black vernacular/ oral tradition -make time working go by easier -values passed down -sense of self-expression (when all others have been stripped away) -method of communications -Call and Response... West African Rhythmic Pattern when singer interacts with audience, duality of the performer and listener, both included -

works that look back nostalgically to the pre-civil war era (antebellum) period --"plantation family" slaves and their owners were like a family--no brutality Joel Chandler Harris --rural GA --apprentice to a type-setter on a plantation --befriended slaves and began recording their stories 1880 "Uncle Kemus"

a character who, through superior wit or cunning, can deceive and manipulate those who seemingly have greater strength and authority; they also enjoy playing tricks on the stupid, pompous, or greedy

survival and sustenance cultural retention and communication "All God's Chillen Had Wings" --flying --> freedom (survival/sustenance) -- escape; underground RR; spirits could never be enslaved/are free --orality/oral traditions (communication) "Ah'll Beatcher MAkin' Money" --both this tale + All God's Chillen use conjuring or magic in their tales --intro to trickster "Too Sharp" --fox comes up with horrible deaths for rabbit but is dissatisfied with each one ------slave owners imposing fear --rabbit is cunning--outsmarts fox ------survival --domination and subordination fox rabbit "the wonderful tar-baby story" tar baby is supposed to be female --dominance + power relations ------fox/rabbit/tar baby (different levels of power) --fox - master; rabbit--slave --rabbit->master; TB->slave; silent; no voice/powerless

forms of vernacular of oral traditions/ songs Douglass on spirituals: --always because of pain and suffering --at first unaware of songs/if joyful or not --but demystified concept of happy singing --speaks about dehumanizing concept of slavery --complexities of vernacular duality of songs: --source of Christianity/afterlife joyful --reveal deeper meaning

under black vernacular --characteristic of black vernacular --some sing 1st verse, others sing 2nd verse --characteristic in black church --audience/ performer relationship-- no split --back and forth relationship -metaphor: Phillis Wheatley: to SM a Painter that her poem dedicated to him is a response to his metaphisic call/ painting -literal Douglass talks about slave song, call but one thing, means another (escape)

autobiographical account of life experiences of black persons from enslavement to emancipation via escape, manumission or abolition

--tragic mulatto archetype: --stereotype --most scholars date this to 1840s even though this predates it 1/2 white 1/2 black --in Southern states not just mulatto --quadrone 1/4 black --octarone 1/8 black --made names for part black --chart system --scared of "mixed" or tainting --mixed race character that will appear tragic --most often women --exceedingly beautiful --white skinned --often times character doesn't know they're half black, taken back or must live life as black person --abolitionist literature --white female readers majority of novel readers --writing to get people angry/involved --make them look like them to appeal to white women --typically pass for white --made them feel personally invested --tragedy--dies commits suicide --victim of warring bloods/divided heritage --cannot exist in racially divided country --corrupt/broken system

Cult of True Womanhood: --19thC victorian ideology describes women role/behavior --proper woman: --seen not heard --proper place in home;domestic sphere/take care of kids --very covered up --role = mother/wife --chaste, pious, reserved --targeted at N women --way women are supposed to act in 19th C --victorian ideals --pious, devout, chaste, loyal to domestic sphere This same code of honor placed white women on a pedestal while consigning black women to a life of bondage and sexual exploitation. virtues women: piety, purity, submissiveness, domesticity --2 sets of women barred form cult of true womenhood --poor women --work outside home --black women -- not considered full women a collection of attitudes that associated "true" womanhood with the home and family; these attitudes value women's piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. Women were meant for the home away from influences of business and public affairs. Custom had it that women were not fit for hard labor, the political life, or the business world. By definition, women of color and poor white women were excluded from "true womanhood

-- mid 1800s --draws on extreme emotion/ sentiment --alone in world, had to make it on own --either poor orphan or rich heiress --show characters error/but teach readers proper path to follow --end in marriage --ex for cult of true womanhood -engage with reader through ID with main character

an elaborate and lengthy tale of sadness David Walker type of puritan sermon -- 1850s --fiery rhetoric--serves as a warning --challenges/reform "advocates" --appropriates sermonic tradition appropriating this as a chosen people --sermon of promise and prophecy --clear throughout Walker --warns readers --not just religious form/reality reformer

--make time working go by more easily --values passed down --sense of self expression (when all others have been stripped away) --method of communication west African rhythmic pattern (call and response) slaves = Israelites slave owners =Egypt Pharoahs Black writers influenced by oral tradition West African traditions remained even in the Americans -hidden meaning/duality of the song

Narrative of the LIfe of Frederick Douglass and My Freedom first few lines compensate for inability to tell exact age makes fact slaves can't tell their age a political issue slaves life tied to specific piece of land that lived in--he is exception recalls cruelty of slavery in early life: --tear children from parent --breaks individualistic idea --beatings of aunt --rape of other/separation of family --starvation --fed like pigs/ inhumanity of it characteristics of may slave narratives/pattern followed --visual representation --master's wife originally teaches him reading until husband tells her not to --she becomes obsessed with making him not read --he tricks the kids into teaching him to read --Mr. Rabbit too sharp for Mr. Fox --they show him more, then he learns' --also writing --Douglass shows "trickster" side --spoke to real ways how they could assert power -+++++++++Douglass shows how slavery is dangerous to slave owner and slave+++++++++ just like tragic mulatto, can relate to get whites to sympathize to the effects of slavery with mistresses, a complexity in their psychy Cult of True Womanhood: --19thC victorian ideology describes women role/behavior --proper woman: --seen not heard --proper place in home;domestic sphere/take care of kids --very covered up --role = mother/wife --chaste, pious, reserved mistresses allowed tolive in diff position: --much role of mothers taken on by female slave --black wet nurses --act as nanny throughout life --Douglass' grandma reared master and his kids and their kids --black woman did the small laborious activity Myth of Southern White Woman --contradictory position by which mistresses put in high position --vulnerable lady like with out duties --Douglass exposing contradictions and hypocracies --suggesting slavery is disease that breaks up black family --also contributes to dissolution of white family --husband rapes women --mother doesn't do motherly duties --ships is metaphor for freedom --whiteness of sails-symbolism--purest of white --white: race--power, privilege, freedom, purity --ships: mobility--opportunity, new opportunities; means of escape; how slaves got there in the first place: middle passage; remind him of all good things but also of things he doesn't have didn't tell him how he escaped to prevent others from hindering others also wants to protect people who helped him escape ships double meaning in freedom --symbols of freedom can be symbols of enslavement/injustice --Anna Douglass' wife --rhetorical strategy not to mention her --envisions self as Moses/Joseph with story large than life; --you have seen how man made slave--now see how slave becomes a man Covey confrontation: --got root from Sandy--said he would never get hit --worked --allusion to conjuring --able to never get hit --stands up for himself with Covey --didn't give up Douglass survival fought for 2 hrs 1) Douglass "Trickster" 2)"Badman" --so "bad" / threatening that he doesn't care what folks say --emerged when hopeless --emerged in folktales --archetype appears to release or give power via a story --Douglass precursor to that ----emerging or myth making into these myth/archetypes --being a man/standing up for himself --describing Aunt Hester ----says she has no equals being beautiful --intimates sexually abused by master --slave narratives allude to these --stripped her and called her names --tied her hands and led to stand with armed stretched up --beat her bloody Aunt Hester --imagery pornographic version of slavery --Douglass cant do anything to stop it --black female suffering with Patsey/Hester a part of male emasculation Northrup talking about how had to not be able to stop Douglass too Covey vs. Hester lacks power figurative rape of aunt needs to exert power traumatized/helpless loaded with comments emasculation masculinity thus needs to assert masculinity, perhaps why ties masculinity in freedom lacks power binary oppositions are gendered women seen victim, powerless Douglass' acquisition of power is gendered moment of power, informs him on masculinity later on Appendix: poem: distinguishing between real christian and slave owning christianity "A Parody" slave cuning preach one do opposite --authenticating white northerners poem --he's authenticating a white abolitionist's poem/text in appendix From My Bondage and My Freedom 1845 p.393 more autobiography not following conventions of story letter to Lloyd Garrison and being an American written for political purpose --talks about dif places and how far behind we are --questions racial/national ID --argues he can't say he's an American --no sense of national belonging no gov/nation --homelessness sense being a black man in 1855 --racism in both N and S --central to "American termperament" --taking a nation to task over "liberty and justice for all" --also important because gives insight into his relationship with abolitionists mentors speech at 1841 Anti slavery convention --felt like cattle --they just wanted the facts --old story to him and too taxing --they wanted him to be more plantation with plain facts --he wanted to speak his way with truth --abolitionists still replicate white superiority and white inferiority --just give facts --still problematic with powerful and powerless --more truthful with tension with him and abolitionists

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano 1789 --Olaudah Equiano publishes book customs/traditions omens sacrifices warfare/POWs perfume Gives an idea of the everydayness of the society attempts to establish addressing the misconceptions and racist beliefs of their readers ----oversexual African women made such to forgive White slave owners trespasses against them p119 --adultery punished by slavery or death --marker--he sees slaves juxtaposed with later (western) instances of slavery alone in hopes it would answer me; very much concerned when I found it remained silent and so to learn how all things had a beginning "curiosity" --> intelligence; desire to learn "as I thought they did" --assimilate "talking to books" desire for companionship "bode" symbolically speaking to eventual conversion indicative of his alienation from western culture and western literary culture

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl --talks about sexual violence too awful to say, embarrased to this --slave narrative/sentimental fiction --no final or heiress who loses everything--has nothing --reliance or emphasis on sympathy /sentiment --2 sets of women barred form cult of true womenhood --poor women --work outside home --black women -- not considered full women authenticity question because went by Linda Brent and replaced names --Linda starts her story at age six. She's a happy kid, living with her mom and dad, both of whom are skilled, educated, and light-skinned slaves. Gee, this doesn't sound too bad. The next few years are all right, too. Her mom dies, but she goes to live with her mother's young mistress, a pretty nice lady (for a slave-owner) who teaches Linda how to sew and read. Now things go downhill. After her mistress dies, twelve-year-old Linda has to go live with a new mistress, five-year old Emily Flint. Okay, having a five-year-old for a mistress is a little weird, but what's worse is that Emily's dad is a total terror. As soon as Linda hits puberty, Dr. Flint turns up the creep-o-meter. He whispers gross things in her ear, writes her dirty notes, and even builds a secret cabin to be their love nest. Ew. It's a good thing neither of them had smartphones, or you just know there'd be pictures of his genitalia floating through cyberspace. So, Linda comes up with a really dodgy plan. If she's got to have sex with anyone, it's at least not going to be Dr. Flint—it's going to be this unmarried white dude named Mr. Sands. The idea is that she's going to get pregnant, and Dr. Flint is going to be so disgusted that he sells her off. Well, the plans works right up until the point where she realizes that Dr. Flint is even crueler than she thought. He's totally uninterested in selling her off. In fact, he consoles himself with the thought that at least her child is going to be his slave. Eventually, Dr. Flint ups the stakes. If Linda agrees to a sexual relationship with him, he'll set her and her children (she has two by this point) free. The alternative? Going to work as a field hand on his son's plantation. But Linda has a secret plan. She refuses the offer of freedom and heads to the plantation. One month later, she's out of there... and right into a teeny crawlspace in her grandmother's shed, where she can peek out to see her children. The space is so small that she can't even stand upright, but she figures Dr. Flint will assume she's gone north and sell her children out of revenge. Again, not so much with the planning. Dr. Flint flat out refuses to give up. He makes trip after trip to New York to find her; he harasses her friends and family for news; and he keeps her children right by his side, assuming that she'll come back for them. This goes on for seven years. Eventually an elaborate network of friends, family members, and abolitionists helps Linda escape to New York. There, Linda works for a woman named Mrs. Bruce until she hears that Dr. Flint was nasty until the day he died—his will has left Linda and her children to a new master, who's hot on her trail. At this point Mrs. Bruce steps in and secretly arranges to buy the freedom of Linda and her kids for a pretty measly sum of money, and, bam! Decades of bondage are over. Linda is surprisingly not as happy as you'd think. The Loophole of Retreat loophole= small opening through which small arms may be

Twelve Years a Slave Epps obsessed with Patsey --oversexual--forced sexual relationship --wants her naked --then wants to beat her on all fours --Neitra forced participation --sexual assault SUMMARY: Citizen of NY kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and rescued in 1853 from cotton plantation near Red River LA. Solomon Northrup was free black man livign in NY who was lured south, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. His memoir, written shartly after his escape, recounts events of his kidnapping and his dehumanizing and violent treatment as a slave on plantations in the interior of LA where he worked in cotton and sugar cane fields. During years, Northup looked for a chance to escape and was finally helped by an abolitionist carpenter with whom he chanced to work. With legal documents from the State of NY, Northup was finally freed and was able to bring legal action against his captors. 12 Years a Slave covers five primary periods in Solomon Northup's life: 1. Solomon Northup: Free Man In Chapters I and II, Northup tells of his life as a free black man living in upstate New York. Born in July 1808, he was the son of an emancipated slave. He grew up working on a farm at his father's side, and also was educated to a degree of competence in reading and writing. Additionally, he learned to play the violin, a skill that would be both a blessing and curse to him in coming years. At age 21, he married Anne Hampton, and they settled down to raise a family. Solomon worked in many trades, including farming, lumberjacking, and performing on the violin, while Anne earned money as a cook. They had three children. In 1841, Solomon met two white men who offered him lucrative work with a circus—if he would travel with them to Washington, D.C. Unsuspecting, he joined them in their travels and in Washington, D.C., after a day of unusual revelry and drinking, became terribly ill. On his way to see a doctor, he passed out. When he woke up, Solomon Northup was alone, chained in darkness. 2. Solomon Northup: Captive This second period of 12 Years a Slave, told in Chapters III-VI, relates how Solomon finds himself a prisoner in the slave pen of James H. Burch, a brutal slave trader in Washington, D.C. When Solomon protests his captivity and asserts his right to freedom, Burch responds by beating him into submission and threatening to kill him if he ever mentions his freedom again. At length, Solomon is allowed to join the other slaves being held by Burch, and he discovers just how hopeless his situation is. Surrounded by slaves and a few other kidnap victims, he is transported downriver, eventually landing in New Orleans, Louisiana. Solomon and the rest of "Burch's gang" are transferred into the slave pen of Burch's associate, Theophilus Freeman. Freeman changes Solomon's name to "Platt," thereby erasing any connection to his past. Solomon is put up for sale, but his sale is delayed when he contracts smallpox, which nearly kills him. After he finally recovers, he is sold, along with a slave girl named Eliza, to a man named William Ford. 3. Solomon Northup: Slave Next begins the third leg of Solomon Northup's journey, told in Chapters VII-XI. Solomon is now a full-fledged slave named "Platt," working on the plantation and lumber mill of William Ford, deep in the heart of Louisiana. Ford is a kindly master, devout in his Christian faith, and given to generosity toward his slaves. Solomon finds it almost a pleasure to be in Ford's service and even figures out a way for Ford to save considerable time and money by transporting lumber via waterway instead of by land. Solomon is well-liked by Ford in return. However, a series of financial missteps result in Ford selling Platt to a cruel carpenter named John M. Tibeats. Tibeats soon becomes Platt's worst enemy, constantly threatening and berating him. While working on a project, Tibeats becomes so enraged that he attempts to whip Platt. Platt is the stronger of the two, though, and he turns the tables on his new master, whipping him instead. Hell-bent on revenge, Tibeats twice attempts to murder Platt. Only the intervention of William Ford and his overseer, Mr. Chapin, saves the slave's life. Unable to kill him, yet bearing murderous hatred toward him, Tibeats sells Platt to the notorious "****** breaker," Edwin Epps. 4. Solomon Northup: Slave Under Edwin Epps The fourth phase of Solomon Northup's 12 Years a Slave, told in Chapters XII-XX, focuses on the ten years he lived under the tyranny of Edwin Epps on two different plantations in Bayou Boeuf, along the banks of the Red River in Louisiana. Epps is indeed a cruel master. A whip is his constant companion, and he uses it almost daily on his slaves. Solomon describes his life under Epps in detail, relating stories of abuse, humiliation, and deprivation among all the slaves. Patsey, a slave girl, gets the worst of Epps' treatment: She is repeatedly raped by him and also whipped by him at the insistence of his jealous wife. At the worst point, she visits a friend at a nearby plantation simply to get a bar of soap because Epps' wife won't allow her to have any. When Patsey returns, Epps is furious, thinking her guilty of a sexual encounter. Platt is forced to whip a naked, helpless Patsey while she screams for mercy. The years pass by, and Solomon almost loses hope. Then he meets a carpenter named Bass, an abolitionist from Canada who is hired to work on a building project for Epps. Bass learns of Solomon's story and decides to help. He sends letters to Solomon's friends in the North, asking them to come and rescue the slave from his captivity. 5. Solomon Northup: Free Man Again The final section of 12 Years of Slave, Chapters XXI and XXII (and Appendix), tells of Solomon's escape from captivity. Thanks to the faithfulness of Bass, Solomon's friends in the North are alerted to his location and come to set him free. Henry B. Northup, a white man who is a relative of the person who once owned Solomon's father, gathers legal support and travels to Louisiana to find the slave. After some searching, he finds "Platt" and, with the help of a local sheriff, emancipates him from the clutches of Edwin Epps. They travel back to New York, stopping for a time in Washington, D.C., to pursue legal charges against James H. Burch for his role in the kidnapping of Solomon Northup. In the end, though, Burch is acquitted because of false witnesses and racist bias in the courtroom. After that, Solomon is finally reunited with his family in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he finds that his daughter has married and he is now a grandfather. His grandson has been named in his honor: Solomon Northup Staunton.

The Mulatto lived in France born in New Orleans ex Patriot mulatto The Mulatto: Laisa bought by Alfred --he gave her child and kicked her out --never told Georgis who father was --she died --Georgis saved Master but got hurt when recovering wanted to romance Zelia --Zelia stood true to herself but was hung --pleaded with Alfred but wouldn't budge --so she was hung --Georgis refugee with his son --waited til heard Alfred had kid --then killed wife by making alfred watch her get poisoned --when she died he hacked Alfred's head off--told him he was his father --then Georgis committed suicide 1837 The Mulatto --published in France --1st known work of African American Fiction --tragic mulatto archetype: --stereotype --most scholars date this to 1840s even though this predates it 1/2 white 1/2 black --in Southern states not just mulatto --quadrone 1/4 black --octarone 1/8 black --made names for part black --chart system --scared of "mixed" or tainting --mixed race character that will appear tragic --most often women --exceedingly beautiful --white skinned --often times character doesn't know they're half black, taken back or must live life as black person --abolitionist literature --white female readers majority of novel readers --writing to get people angry/involved --make them look like them to appeal to white women --typically pass for white --made them feel personally invested --tragedy--dies commits suicide --victim of warring bloods/divided heritage --cannot exist in racially divided country --corrupt/broken system --introduces theme of mulatto before common --psychological trauma 1) Georgis desire to know his father --mother guards this --unresolved issue as a child --desire to know father informs small/large decisions --disillusionment of family --gothic melodrama --kills father at end --"i am cursed" --implication: can't live happy life about race mixture--needed to know; couldn't live without knowing truth --fa-ther; split word speaks to his racial split ------set up from beginning ----black / white ----loyal /vengeful ---protective/aggressive or threatening both mother's child --loves her father's son--feels bad/guilty for killing father when kills father, kills part of self suicide: couldn't live with knowledge post Haitian revolution framing the narrative about enslaved and trying to overthrow the master Antoine tells story--friend of Georgis why does he tell it? need to tell it because of his own trauma dramatist that Antoine refused handshake to make a point p304/5: pleading to save wife's life only you and I know she's innocent Alfred angry, told him to leave Aflred's denial/guilt but won't acknowledge truth "insulin" refusal to accept slavery referred to as "peculiar institution" horrific for everyone children are only ones alive georgis half brother and his son protest literature --used in abolitionist lit to sway women to join suggests institution is disease that affects everyone made out to be that Alfred is despicable and then Georgis becomes that way

David Walker's Appeal, in four articles early black nationalism; protest writer call to violent resistance against slavery David Walker's Appeal: --Jefferson condemning Africans as not as human --whites see them as not human -------ape-like view --compare Egyptian to White slavery ---Egyptians treated them as humans --Roman slavery better--could buy out and be as successful as free man American Jeremiad type of puritan sermon -- 1850s --fiery rhetoric--serves as a warning --challenges/reform "advocates" --appropriates sermonic tradition appropriating this as a chosen people --sermon of promise and prophecy --clear throughout Walker --warns readers --not just religious form/reality reformer David Walker's Appeal with Preamble to the Colored Citizens of the world: --supposed to be for blacks but for white readers --to convince whites that slavery is wrong --Africans most oppressed to live since beginning of world --chronicled ancient slavery to prove point --goes to bible for references --jewish slavery from Egypt better --spartan and roman too --romans could buy freedom --spartans never chained enslaved --4 article sections meant to mimic Constitution --no way to obtain freedom --emphasize injustice and condition --died too early to see Nat Turner's southhampton county insurrection --Nat Turner rebellion 1831 --slave preacher, visions that he'd lead slave rebellion --Turner rebellion killed while owners/family moved from house to house --60-70 slaves --Turner fled into forest --Turner might have read Walker --publication date at Walker end --Turner rebellion might be connect (3 yr difference)

female; slave; purchased as waiting maid; African American poet; taken from Africa --desires to learn --at 13/14 first volume of poetry --Resistance theme --NeoClassical Poetry-- 16-1700s--precursor to Romanticism --history related poetry --personification/abstract ideas-ideals "On Being Brought From Africa to America" brought from land with concept of of Christianity by mercy of God God/Saver some criticize Africans --but they can be reined and enter heaven too --musing about having a muse --imagination powers poetic production --allusions to Greek/Roman mythology --talks about them as pagans --criticism of some Greek/Roman figures to display devout christianity --distinguishing features: 1)combine Christianity/biblical allusions or figures ---preaching position ---line in "To the university of Cambridge in New England" 2)subtlety adopts rhetoric of freedom 3)racializes own poetry ----draws attention to self as a black poet why is she important? --masters neoclassic style --protest to idea that blacks sub-human --unconventional of the times --lacking racial consciousness --stolen at young age ---maybe less sense of racial consciousness --didn't actively address social issues of time painting of Wheatley: --looks like she is thinking ---posture / pose --eyes --clothing ----servant clothes --fully clothed African --juxtapose preconceived --iconography of this important --book shows she can read as well as write with pen/paper --maybe back of poems? --stands in for her intelligence -- "To the University of Cambridge in New England" --Jesus; new lands; mercy of God; go to heaven --regarding title, despite vast desperate background, she writes a poem to the top elite --line 2, muses/creativity inspire her artistic production --excitement to write --line 3; became literate quickly; "left my native land" repressing event of captivity and engaging in denial so not blatant to reader --readership important to text; geared to white reader; so had to repress what she went to for the audience --sense of child of God in her conversion with reference to slavery in this --slavery frames poem in a way that is unavoidable --stanza 2; Christ's great compassion; religious concern --building case on sinful nature of man and rejecting christian doctrine is to be engaging in sin --collective "we" in ; referencing whole human race by sin had fallen "on being brought from africa to america" --more about being brought --ambiguity-because word choice very careful --"pagan" italicized as well as "savior" "christians" "negroes" --pagan linked with savior -christians linked with negroes --"our" race emphasizing equality --forces new symbolically --brings God/savior--all equal under God --'remember' imperative --authoritative --despite talking about pagan and then saying need to acknowledge that God has all children --unchristian if not following this rule in christianity --advocating freedom/equality --pagan -- latin paganus --village/rural/rustic --given edu, scholar argues that when she used this word with double meaning --acknowledge Africa /village or native land ' to SM a young african painter on seeing his works" --arguing against idea of africans as uncreative --can paint "On Imagination" -focused on sky --ethereal things --flowers/dresses --God "To SM A Young African Painter on seeing his Work" --when seeing own creation sees wonder/beauty --how could I have made this

Literature of Slavery and Freedom (1746-1865 end of civil war) Slave Narratives 1550s/1860s first Renaissance of African American literature Literature of Reconstruction (1865-1877) Amendments -13th Abolish Slavery -14th Citizenship -15th Black Men Right to Vote (1870) The Nadir Period (1877-1923) lowest point of African-American life lynching + violence at its peak The Neo-Slave Period (1975-present) contemporary texts first person slave narrative writing style looking back on slavery

first year that the British Parliament seriously considered abolition -1400s Portuguese began trading gold and spices for African prisoner of war -----kidnapping, orphans, kids sold, volunteers vs. Western Slavery->strictly economic African slavery-->monolithic --Spanish conquerors in South America treatment of natives triggered the first influx of African Slaves ---Sugarcane, tobacco, cotton and coffee ---90% slaves were in the south in US

16-1700s precursor to Romanticism --history related poetry --personification/abstract ideas-ideals