Who Freed the Slaves?
Who
Freed the Slaves?
On
August 25th, 1864, Anne Davis, a Maryland slave, wrote the president
stating, “Mr president It is my Desire
to be free”. [1]
This short-written plea for emancipation is a powerful and emotional sentence
that displays the motivation for social justice. The short utterance expresses
the desperation for an emancipated society but raises the question of who
initially emancipated the slaves. Although Anne composed a letter expressing
her desires to the president, that does not imply that the president could magically
fulfil her wishes in an instant. There are a variety of components that have
aided the process of freeing the slaves, for instance; the assistance from
abolitionists, the fourteenth amendment, and supportive partisans. However,
when it comes down to who freed the slaves and who deserves the credit for
doing so, in my opinion, I believe that it was the slaves who freed themselves.
In this
paper, I will argue my belief by discussing how the slaves were capable and
competent to free themselves, how the slaves were the trendsetters for
emancipation, and how the slaves were the most motivated for emancipation.[DS1]
To
begin, it is important to consider that the slaves were capable and competent enough
to hold their own democracies or opinions despite the conception of all slaves
being ignorant. Certain slaves would strategically display their “ignorance” to
their benefit, either by pretending to misunderstand or employ tools of unfree
labor [2] by deliberately
decelerating their work. Slaves were conscious of their surroundings.
Houseslaves would eavesdrop on conversations held inside the homes to gather
intel. The slaves knew the importance of being well-informed and how they could
use their knowledge to their advantage. Officer Elias D. Strunke states, “I
rejoice to learn” in his letter to the Louisiana Black Brigade when discussing
his eager, and willingness to fight for emancipation. He states, “My anxiety
was to learn all I could concerning the Bravery of the Colored Reg. engaged,
for their good conduct and bravery would add to your undertakings and make more
popular the movement. Not that I am afraid to meet unpopular doctrines, for I
am not. But that we may show our full strength. The case should be one of
general sanction”. [i]
Strunke later states, “I must say I entertained some fears as to their pluck.
But I have now none” and further explained his witness of bravery from the
Black Regiment, “these men did not swerve, or show cowardice. I have been in
several engagements, and I never before beheld such coolness”. [3] This suggests the importance
and value of the “movement”, emancipation, and how it took great bravery to
challenge a grounded patriarchal foundation. Frederick Douglass, another
example of an individual who utilized intelligence, went to great lengths to
ensure his intelligence by seeking vulnerable prospects to teach him terms. Although
this was a dangerous act, not only for the slave but for the educator as well,
Douglass understood that the value of becoming well-informed outweighed the
costs of potentially getting caught. In return, I believe that his intelligence
contributed to the push for emancipation when his autobiography reached the
Northern public. To support this claim, it is important to note the contrasting
lifestyles of the North and South. The Northern society was more industrialized
and the ‘social norm’ of harsh punishment was not as common as in the South.
Some Northerners were unaware of such conditions that occurred, and Douglass’
autobiography pulled a pathos approach in informing the Northern public by
grasping their emotions. Men, such as John Brown, were emotionally invested and
passionately motivated to support “The Slaves War” (as some ideologies refer to
the Civil War).[4]
It takes knowledge to cultivate such a transformative movement and even without
the resources to gain said knowledge, the slaves were competent and were
capable to persuade a great majority of the public to support their cause.
Furthermore,
slaves were the first abolitionist and had constantly resisted the foundation
of slavery. [ii]
I believe that slaves were the ‘trendsetters’ for the emancipation movement,
inferring that they are the root for emancipation and everyone else followed
along like a bandwagon. The means of informing the Northern public of the
unimaginable brutality of slavery that occurred in the South (for example,
Douglass’ autobiography publication) had empowered other individuals
(abolitionist) to participate in the slave’s movement for emancipation and the
push for suffrage. I believe that the slaves were correct in seeing the North
as their ally’s because the North was capable and sympathetic enough to
increase the attention to the brutal Southern conditions, which generated more
support. That said, I believe that once the North became involved and political
leaders became symbols for the slave’s cause, it shifted the narrative of who
was in charge and raised the question of who freed the slaves. Nevertheless, as
mentioned prior, the slaves had a multitude of attributing factors that
supported the process of slaves freeing themselves. When president Lincoln
established the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it did not resolve the issue
of discrimination and did not immediately grant citizenship to the freed
people. Many southerners held on to any dominating position and vocally
expressed their dissatisfaction with the new shift of their social norms. A
significant impact to the slave’s movement was the ratification of the
fourteenth amendment which declared national citizenship, and due process and
equal protection for all persons. I believe that the chronological order of
events (beginning from the small, subtle slave resistance to Douglass’
publication, then later the cumulated attributing factors from all aspects of
support for suffrage) glazed over the origination of who freed the slaves. Be
that as it may, the value of slave contributions to their movement will
evermore be the predominant factor.
All
things considered; the question of who freed the slaves goes back to the origin
of the slave story to understand why the process of emancipation was set into
motion. By the means of written documentations and participating in
storytelling, audiences in any generation have the capacity to learn the
conditions that the slaves endured. Although misconceptions about who freed the
slaves can occur, I believe that it is important to consider the slaves conditions
to better understand why emancipation was passionately fought for (on both
sides of the political parties) and to answer the question of who freed the
slaves. The slaves were the most motivated participants in the emancipation
movement because they experienced, what could be considered, the most
traumatizing conditions in American history: physically and psychologically. In
John Boston’s letter to his wife, he states “I had a little trouble getting
away but as the lord led the Children of Isrel to the land of Canon So he led
me to a land Whare fredom Will rain in spite Of earth and hell”. [iii] This summarizes how life
was for a slave by comparing the earth, as the slaves knew to be, to hell. In
another letter written by a Missourian slave woman for her husband, she describes
her fearful living conditions stating, “they abuse me because you went and say
they will not take care of our children and do nothing by quarrel with me all
the time and beat me scandalously”.[iv] These recollections are a
small fraction of the many documented slave stories but paints the overall
picture of how the slaves were left with no other option than to revolt. Actions
that began small (such as employing tools of unfree labor) resulted into bigger
actions (such as the publication of Narrative of the life of Frederick
Douglass) that gained attraction from individuals in the position of power to
aid in the slave’s movement.
In
conclusion, a key point to resonate with when considering who freed the slaves is
that it was the slave’s movement and everything else; the ratification of the
fourteenth amendment, the publicity from political leaders, the abolitionist’s
sympathetic contributions, amongst others were mere contributing factors. It
was the slaves who freed themselves because they were the authors in the linear
narrative of life as a slave. Claiming that the slave’s freed themselves does
devalue the importance of everything that contributed to slavery emancipation.
In fact, the smallest aid played a significant role because, even contemporary
terms, the smallest acts of kindness could play a substantial role in somebodies’
life. In this case, the accumulation of assistance for the slave movement was a
big step towards an egalitarian society.
[1] The Destruction of Slavery, p. 384
[2] Malka, 9/02/2021
[3] Ullmann papers,
1863
[4] Malka, 08/24/21
[i] Ullmann papers, 1863
[ii] Malka, 9/7/21
[iii] The Destruction of Slavery, pp.
357
[iv] The Black Military Experience, pp.
117
References
Malka,
Adam. #1,
Telling Stories.pptx: HIST-3553-001 (ou.edu). 08/24/2021
Malka,
Adam. #4,
Slave South.pptx: HIST-3553-001. 09/02/2021
Malka,
Adam. #5,
Politics of Freedom.pptx: HIST-3553-001 (ou.edu).
09/07/2021
The
Black Military Experience, pp. 244-45, in Families and
Freedom, pp. 97 in Free at Last, pp. 464, and in Freedom’s
Soldiers, pp. 117-18.
The
Black Military Experience, pp. 528-30, in Free at Last,
pp. 439-41, and in Freedom’s Soldiers, pp. 94-96.
The
Destruction of Slavery, pp. 357-58, in Free at Last,
pp. 29-30, and in Families and Freedom, pp. 22-23.
The
Destruction of Slavery, pp. 384, in Free at Last,
pp.349, and in Families and Freedom, pp. 227.
The
Destruction of Slavery, pp. 386, in Free at Last,
pp. 120-21, and in Families and Freedom, pp. 45-46.
Douglass,
Fredrick. Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. Penguin Group
Publications, New York City, NY. March 1, 1845.
[DS1]Thesis
statement
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