Prisoners of the Past

A detailed Summary of Prisoners of the Past

Taken from their homelands without any warning, humility forced upon them as the wealthy tribe members were made servants, servants who were treated with less respect than that of a herd of cattle. Overtaken by the white man, who, for selfish reasons, took another race of humanity to call and possess as their own. Having to witness their loved ones being killed, punished severely, or beaten, being powerless to stop their pain. These were all surreal experiences that, unfortunately, many were forced to endure as slaves. Such a cruel, inhumane period of drudgery that is known as slavery was a poignant mark in history, which brought upon a concept that is still plagues society today.

"...I was broken in body, soul and spirit" (Douglass, pg.105). In mostly all accounts of slavery, the same objective was beheld by all slave owners: to break your slave, to have absolute power over his / her mind, body and soul. In Frederick Douglass's account, he was mostly a city slave, whose owners literally believed that for a slave, or "nigger" as it was so crudely put back then, "ignorance was bliss", and so it was. Had a slave known what was going on in the world, had they been able to read about certain rights that they did in fact hold legally

Slaves born into slavery only knew this life. They had nothing to compare the horrible conditions to; they only knew that the way they were living was iniquitous. On the other hand, slaves that had been captured suffered the most. They were torn from their homelands with out any warning, without any notion as to what was even happening. They were once, free, some wealthy, some kings, some paupers; being forced to give up everything they had to become a mere piece of property for another human being. Venture Smith, a slave that was taken from Africa, tells his story of captivation, and how he watched his father, the king, being tortured to his death. The African people were then chained and placed on ships that would deliver them to the only hell they knew.

Regardless of where they were stationed, south or north, despite the fact that they were captured or born into the hell, the deliverance from the chains of slavery was the one prayer and hope beheld by each and every slave. Each slave "drank from the same cup of sin, shame, and misery, whereof their persecuted race was compelled" (Out of Many, pg. 147) to drink from. Slavery was a horrid, disgusting display of power that scarred many souls and have made them prisoners of the past.

Sex identification also led to different treatments, and positions held by the slaves. A male slave mostly worked in the field, undergoing extreme arduous labor, the punishments were more severe, and much more was expected of him. Women were mostly contained in the house taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and being slaves to the mistresses. Worse yet, being a personal outlet in all areas for the master. Harriet Jacob's was one slave of the many to have been sexually corrupted by her master and loose all innocence possibly left in her fragile mind. "He told me I was his property; that I must subject to his will in all things. My soul revolted against the mean tyranny. But who could I turn to for protection?"(Out of Many, pg. 146) Sadly enough, there wasn't anything to protect the young girl from abuse, not her family, not her fellow peers, and certainly not the law. Harriet Jacob's also tells of a certain instance when she saw two children, one fair a

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Approximate Word count = 1493
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History