The Effects of Slavery to Humankind - Essay Example

Insert Insert Insert Introduction Slavery is a process whereby people are treated as possessions for buying and selling and are forced to work. Slaves are held against their wish and deprived their right to refuse to work and the right to demand compensation. Slavery in America dates back to early 1500 as the first African slaves arrived in America in 1501. Slavery has a tremendous negative impact on the lives of the victims according to Harriet Jacobs. The thesis of this study is the effects of slavery to humankind. To help us understand this, we will tackle three topics; how slavery is more damaging to women than men, life in the North after the escape of Jacobs and how slavery undermined families in the south. Q1 Harriet Jacobs wrote a tale about life as slave and the challenges that she had to experience. The story exposes the bodily and emotional abuses a female has to endure when she is a slave. The story shows how women underwent terrible and traumatizing brutality of slavery than their male counterparts. Jacobs like many other slave women were sexually harassed by their white masters. According to the story, Jacobs was sexually teased and manipulated by Mr. Flint her master. Dr. Flint would usually remind her that she was her property and that he could as well do whatever he wanted with her. This made Jacob’s life to be uncomfortable and fearful. Dr. Flint would meet Jacobs at every turn, and remind her that she belonged to him, and swear by heaven and earth that one day, she will make her agree to her advancements. The situation was so traumatizing that Jacobs could hear Dr. Flint’s footsteps when she was relaxing after a long day of work. Whenever Jacobs would visit her mother’s grave, she would see a dark shadow of Dr. Flint following her. Life was so horrible for slave women that sexual exploitation was a daily affair for them. Jacob and other female slaves were psychologically abused and perplexed. They were subjected to abusive traditions that were thought to be socially right. For instance, for a female slave to be deemed a lady in the south, there were harsh conditions that they had to abide. This made Jacobs be haunted by the loss of her innocence when she was a kid. White females were required to keep themselves pure, and their homes were protected by the law and they had the freedom of choosing their partners. Female slaves on similarly, had no liberty to decide their partners, and it was hard for them to preserve themselves or to keep themselves pure. Females were made to live in despair. Female slaves had to endure the hardships of motherhood in very harsh conditions. Motherhood set a different experience of women slaves from their male counterparts. Female slaves were subjected to a hard situation whereby they are forced to prioritize their activities Jacobs had to prioritize between being a slave and being a mother concerned about the welfare of her children. After Jacobs had learnt that Dr. Flint wanted to make her and her children slaves, she took the risk of escaping to save the destiny of her children, despite knowing the consequences that would happen to her if she was caught. Jacobs risked her body and mind and lived in complete seclusion in order for her children to be free. Female slaves were in charge of their families more than the slave fathers. The role of slave fathers was not much significant as they were sold far from their families. Q3 Though the north is seen as not supporting slavery, discrimination is very rampant. Whites and light skinned blacks are treated differently from the blacks. Black women were not supposed to mix with the whites in the North. Jacobs remembers a situation when she was the only black maid in a hotel and was unfairly treated. She was shown a seat in the hotel where she sat down, only for the waiter to come and tell her to sit the baby in the chair and to stand behind it on her feet. Jacob was told to wait to be shown where she was to take her meal from, which turned out to be the kitchen. Although Jacobs had the freedom she had yearned for in a long time, she had to depend on the well wishers such as Mrs. Hobbs for her survival. The people at north were very unwelcoming to black people from south and at some point Jacobs is forced to lie that she is from Canada to avoid harsh treatment. When Jacobs arrived in Newyork, she meets with an Irish man who makes fun of her due to her skin color. (Jacobs, 2000) People at the North strictly abide by the fugitive slave law. The law states that slaves in the US must seek clearance from their masters in order for them to work for another person. Jacobs finds herself a victim to this law, if her employer finds out that she is an alien in the north she would have to return to Dr. Flints her former master. According to Jacobs the law is discriminatory as she had to seek release from the doctor for her to be employed as a nanny. The fugitive slave act required the return of run away slaves to their masters. Jacobs is at risk of returning to DR. Flint’s family. After the death of DR. Flints, her daughter, Emily Flints, writes to the Bruce’s demanding the return of Jacobs. Mrs. Bruce offers to purchase Jacobs freedom in order for her to carry on working for them. Jacobs is adamant about the idea as she fears that she might be sold to other slave traders. Mrs. Bruce finally purchases Jacobs freedom. According to Jacobs the law is punitive and should be abolished as it limits the freedom of the slaves. It is this law that later prompts Jacobs to join hands with other like minded people to fight for the freedom of the slaves. Q4 “Only through skills can any one comprehend how dark and deep and foul is that ditch of abominations.” (Jacobs, 120). These are words spoken by Jacobs describing how horrible slavery was. According to Jacobs black families had it rough during the slavery era. First the law did not recognize the blacks in the south. They had no dignity at all. Dignity was only preserved for the elite white men and women. The black families had no right or honor, this had no regard whether you are a woman or a man. Their living conditions were pathetic in state. Slave families were provided only with a two pairs of pants, a pair of shoes and one shirt which were supposed to last them for a whole year. The shoes were mostly used or torn old shoes. Since the shoes could not last for a whole year, they were forced to live bare foot even at winter. Black families had no right to protect their families. Parents were separated from their children and therefore, the children had to grow without the care of their parents. Jacobs’s children are sold by DR. Flints when they are very young to the north. The black families had no option to choose on whom they wanted to marry. They are considered properties of their masters and would do whatever they wished to the slaves. The black families had no right to own any property in fact they are properties of their masters. The relationship of the family members is deteriorated due to the idea that they are at diverse locations. Jacobs is forced to prioritize between the family and master’s jobs. She has no time for her family as she is always busy at her master’s workplace. Black Families are divided and sold as properties, mothers lost their children and brothers are lost from their sisters. It is only through fortune that Jacobs is able to reconnect with her children later in Boston and Brooklyn. Slavery is also daunting to the white families they have to observe rituals which add pressure to the white families and especially women. The white women had to comply with the cult of true womanhood. They had to remain pure and clean and submissive to their husbands. Purity was a key issue in the white society and any woman was required to remain pure until her marriage. The cult of true womanhood laid down standards which the white women had to exist with in order to attain their personhood. Although the white were not slaves this somehow enslaved them according to Jacobs. Conclusion In conclusion, we can therefore say that slavery is harmful to both whites and blacks. The blacks are subjected to physical and psychological effects to this barbaric system. Slavery also left scars of guiltiness to those who thought were in control of the system. Slavery no doubt degrades the dignity of the victim and leaves a sense of guilt to the master. The effects of slavery have haunted the victims for a long time affecting their lives. Work Cited Jacobs, Harriet A., Nell Irvin Painter, and John S. Jacobs. Incidents in the life of a slave girl. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. Read More