This document summarizes forms of resistance by slaves in the Antebellum period, including rebellions, running away, and day-to-day acts of resistance. It discusses the reasons slaves resisted, such as escaping harsh treatment or reuniting with family members. It describes different types of resistance like feigning illness, slowing work, or arson. It also discusses the experiences of runaway slaves and the dangers they faced if captured. The general strain theory is presented as a framework for understanding how the strains of slavery led slaves to develop coping strategies of resistance.
From Enslavement to Freedom: Resources for Teaching the African American Expe...Heidi Bamford
This Powerpoint contains many active links and images that can be used to present a general or specific perspective on the African American experience, focusing particularly on New York. While local history resources are identified, there are many national and regional resources included to make this adaptable for any classroom.
This presentation is of the sectional crises over states' rights and slavery's westward expansion that gave way to American Civil War. It is the fourth in a series of textbook/lecture substitutes designed for students in a college seminar on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Booker T Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, offers an interesting glimpse in what it was like to be born a slave, live through the tumultuous Civil War era, and as a young man to experience the consequences blacks faced with the end of Reconstruction when the Ku Klux Klan night-riders enslaved the former black slaves anew through terror by lynching them, burning their bodies and their farm and their churches, suppressing them and denying them justice, even denying them the ability to defend themselves in daylight through the courts.
Booker T Washington gives us a fascinating look into another world in another time, he goes from being an illiterate slave to running a major college, fund raising and socializing with the most powerful and wealth businessmen and philanthropists of his day.
Please also read our other blogs on civil rights and the Civil War and Reconstruction, which also include the videos from Yale lecture series mentioned in the video. These blogs have the links for the Yale lectures and also class notes and transcripts:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/civil-rights/
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/civil-war-and-reconstruction/
We also refer to writings of Epictetus, who was a former slave of a former slave, in this video:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/epictetus-discourses-blog-1/
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/epictetus-discourses-blog-2/
And the blogs for both Epictetus and Rufus:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/epictetus-and-rufus/
Please support our channel when purchasing these books from Amazon:
Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery and The Life of Frederick Douglass
https://amzn.to/3ja2ITo
How these 5 Guatemalan women changed history | Jürg Widmer Probst Jürg Widmer Probst
Jürg Widmer Probst on five Guatemalan women who have changed history by fighting for the rights of indigenous people. check out this article for more detail.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
From Enslavement to Freedom: Resources for Teaching the African American Expe...Heidi Bamford
This Powerpoint contains many active links and images that can be used to present a general or specific perspective on the African American experience, focusing particularly on New York. While local history resources are identified, there are many national and regional resources included to make this adaptable for any classroom.
This presentation is of the sectional crises over states' rights and slavery's westward expansion that gave way to American Civil War. It is the fourth in a series of textbook/lecture substitutes designed for students in a college seminar on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Booker T Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, offers an interesting glimpse in what it was like to be born a slave, live through the tumultuous Civil War era, and as a young man to experience the consequences blacks faced with the end of Reconstruction when the Ku Klux Klan night-riders enslaved the former black slaves anew through terror by lynching them, burning their bodies and their farm and their churches, suppressing them and denying them justice, even denying them the ability to defend themselves in daylight through the courts.
Booker T Washington gives us a fascinating look into another world in another time, he goes from being an illiterate slave to running a major college, fund raising and socializing with the most powerful and wealth businessmen and philanthropists of his day.
Please also read our other blogs on civil rights and the Civil War and Reconstruction, which also include the videos from Yale lecture series mentioned in the video. These blogs have the links for the Yale lectures and also class notes and transcripts:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/civil-rights/
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/civil-war-and-reconstruction/
We also refer to writings of Epictetus, who was a former slave of a former slave, in this video:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/epictetus-discourses-blog-1/
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/epictetus-discourses-blog-2/
And the blogs for both Epictetus and Rufus:
http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/category/epictetus-and-rufus/
Please support our channel when purchasing these books from Amazon:
Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery and The Life of Frederick Douglass
https://amzn.to/3ja2ITo
How these 5 Guatemalan women changed history | Jürg Widmer Probst Jürg Widmer Probst
Jürg Widmer Probst on five Guatemalan women who have changed history by fighting for the rights of indigenous people. check out this article for more detail.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
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2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
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1. 1
Resistance to slavery in the Antebellum period – Runaways
Slaves naturally resisted enslavement as they believed the act of slavery to be fundamentally
unnatural. There were many forms of resistance, but the main objective of all these acts was to
claim freedom against the institutions that defined slaves as their property.1
The majority of the
forms of resistance occurred within the working environment. It shows the extent to which slavery
was a form of coerced labor, with the slaves struggling to accept the terms of work. Throughout the
years of slavery, various customs dictated the nature of work routines and treatment of slaves. If
masters increased workloads or punished severely, for example, the victims had their own ways of
showing displeasure, which included feigning illness, slowing down work or sabotaging production. 2
However, such resistance was not welcomed by slave masters, who took severe actions to stop them
but also risked more widespread resistance. This chapter seeks to critically analyses literature on
resistance to slavery by runaway slaves while making reference to theories of resistance
Reasons behind Slave Resistance
The most pervasive reason for slaves running away was to reunite with families. Some of
them ran to alternative plantations in search of their wives, husbands, parents, and all too for their
children. It means that the mere rumor of being put on sale could trigger the servants to flee.3
The
masters, therefore, planned to make sales confidentially until a bargain was sealed. Most of the
southern states illegalized slave marriages, and the masters often separated slave couples through
sale. According to Windley, slaves were not even allowed to have their sexual partner of choice.4
Slave owners encouraged monogamous relationships as it made it easier to disciplining the slaves.
Other motivations for running away were to escape from harsh treatment and to realize a
life of freedom. Mason reasons out from the advice of his father that a male slave who loved his
family would not be rebellious. However, the frustration of witnessing the sale, whipping and raping
of wives and children introduced the feeling of powerlessness considering that the slave could do
nothing to prevent the forcible mistreatment. Even though every master had his way of treating his
slaves, Lincoln narrating in Federal Writers Volume XVI narratives states that the treatment was
characterized as brutality.5
The slaves were likely to be whipped, executed, beaten, or raped. In his
narrative, Douglass also explains that sexual abuse of female slaves was nothing new and women
were treated as property or chattel.6
Having gone through all these forms of mistreatment, the
slaves were motivated to resist or escape from bondage and become free.
Forms of Resistance in Retaliation to Slavery
Rebellion
Rebellions initiated by slaves included periodic acts of violence in retaliation to the chattel
slavery. Acts of resistance were a sign of continual deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the state of
slavery. However, Dusinberre states that rebellion only led to more stringent mechanisms for
controlling and repressing slaves in some places.7
Douglass narrates that the masters developed
myths depicting their servants as contented, which were used to quell unrests and preserve peculiar
institutions advocating for slavery. In this regard, records of rebellions were clouded censorship and
distortion, therefore, making it difficult to quantify the total number of slave revolts. Geggus states
1
John Hope Franklin and Schweninger Loren. Runaway Slaves : Rebels on the Plantation. New York: Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. P. 21
2
Lathan A. Windley, Runaway Slave Advertisements : A Documentary History from the 1730's to 1790.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983. p. 240
3
John Hope Franklin and Schweninger Loren. Runaway Slaves : Rebels on the Plantation. New York: Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 90
4
Lathan A. Windley, Runaway Slave Advertisements : A Documentary History from the 1730's to 1790.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983. p. 247
5
Federal Writers. "Volume XVI: South Carolina Narratives." Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the
United States From Interviews with Former Slaves. 1941. p. 17
6
Frederick Douglass, My bondage and my freedom. Oxford University Press, 2019. p. 246
7
William Dusinberre, Strategies for Survival: Recollections of Bondage in Antebellum Virginia. Charlottesville:
University of Virginia Press, 2009.
2. 2
that before the American Revolution, there had been over 250 attempted and successful rebellions
in which slaves sought personal freedom.8
However, very few of them were systematically planned,
which explains the reason for them being merely spontaneous and short-lived disturbances.9
While
the majority of revolts were started by male bondsmen, their failure was due to betrayed by house
servants with close relations with their masters. In this regard, not all forms of revolt initiated by the
slaves bore the fruit of freedom; most of them failed.
Runaways
While some slaves formed rebellions, many others internalized their social inferiority and
accepted to be subjected to servitude without any consideration of resistance. However, many of
them resisted violently and tragically. Toatley in Volime XIV of Federal Writers’ slave narratives
states that slaves who fought against their maters risked being sent to slave-markets.10
The narrator
describes such servants as having opted to kill themselves instead of facing the prospect of
enslavement. Furthermore, it is a clear indictment of the frustrations slaves had to go through to
gain freedom. In this regard, Lockley argues that slaves came up with other ways of alleviating the
burdens of slavery.11
Escaping was a preferred option, where the victims simply tried to find safer
refuge. On the other hand, the slave owners devised ways to find runaways, which included the
hiring of professional slave-catchers and posting of advertisements describing the fugitives in public
areas.
Müller conducted an assessment of the problem of runaway slaves towards the end of the
antebellum period and found fragmented ground for estimations.12
In 1800, for example, Baltimore
had a total of 26,900 inhabitants. The population grew to 212,000 in 1860, of which 28,000 were
African Americans.13
Only 2,200 of the people of African descent were still enslaved. On the other
hand, Richmond, in Virginia also had 14,400 African Americans before the civil war, but 11,700 were
enslaved. The statistics show that cities in the Upper South had significantly larger numbers of free
black population than slaves except for Richmond. However, the picture further south was
dramatically different as slavery was firmly entrenched. Charleston, for example, had 17,100 African
Americans, and only 3,200 were legally free and the rest enslaved.
Franklin and Schweninger largely account for truants (temporary runaways) who eloped for
impulsive reasons such as facing the threat of being punished. Some slaves merely took a break from
the harsh realities of forced labor, which was a common occurrence during harvest time.14
On the
contrary, permanent runaways fled to cities in the north. The well-used routes by slaves who ran
away stretched west to Indiana and Iowa. However, the majority of slaves headed north into New
England and Canada.15
The slaves only received help after getting to a free state, which made it
more difficult for runaways from states in the Deep South such as Alabama and Louisiana to gain
freedom. They had a long way to travel on foot. In this regard, most slaves from states such as
Kentucky and Virginia in the upper south managed to escape to bordering the Free States to receive
help from the Underground Railroad.
8
David Geggus, "Slave rebellion during the Age of Revolution." In Curaçao in the Age of Revolutions, 1795-
1800, 23-56. Brill, 2014. p. 25
9
Achenbach, Alexandra, and Foitzik Susanne. "First evidence for slave rebellion: enslaved ant workers
systematically kill the brood of their social parasite Protomognathus americanus." Evolution: International
Journal of Organic Evolution 63, no. 4 (2009): p. 1069.
10
Federal Writers. "Volume XIV: South Carolina Narratives." Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in
the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves. 1941. p. 167
11
Timothy James Lockley, Maroon Communities in South Carolina : A Documentary Record. Columbia, S.C.:
University of South Carolina Press, 2009. p. 22
12
Viola Franziska Müller, "Early undocumented workers: runaway slaves and African Americans in the Urban
South, c. 1830-1860." Labor history 61, no. 2 (2020): p. 94.
13
U. S. 8th Census. Population of the United States in 1860. US Government Printing Office, 1864. p. 14
14
John Hope Franklin and Schweninger Loren. Runaway Slaves : Rebels on the Plantation. New York: Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. P. 98
15
Viola Franziska Müller, "Early undocumented workers: runaway slaves and African Americans in the Urban
South, c. 1830-1860." Labor history 61, no. 2 (2020): p. 95.
3. 3
While Douglass and Delaney wrote about ending slavery at a personal level, Harriet Tubman
took an active role in leading other slaves to freedom. Having escaped from bondage herself,
Tubman put all her effort into helping others.16
In this case, she facilitated the escape of at least 300
slaves. According to Blue and Naden, she threatened to shoot the slaves she was assisting if they
dared to turn back, as this would endanger herself and others.17
Tubman was one of the major
facilitators of the Underground Railroad. Here, more than half of runaways found their ways into
northern cities. However, Lockley identifies the majority of runaways as relatively privileged slaves
such as river boatmen who had become familiar with the outside world.18
Douglass, for example,
worked as a laborer in a shipyard before making his escape.19
Day-To-Day Resistance
Even though running away had more chances of success than rebellion, some of the slaves
still considered it to be a hazardous enterprise. Slaves on the run faced the danger of being caught
and subjected to savage punishment. Other servants, therefore, never preferred risking their lives by
running away, and instead opted to carry out acts of obstruction that affected their masters at
minimal risk to themselves.20
Such acts included feigning illness, breaking work tools, and acts of
arson. According to Windley, the slaves believed that striking out at the masters’ properties
amounted to striking at the master himself. Feigning illness was a common act amongst both men
and women with the aim of gaining relief from harsh work conditions.21
However, Franklin and Loren
argue that it was easier for women to feign illness than men, as some masters expected them to
provide them with children hence the need to protect their childbearing capacity.22
Whenever
possible, some of the slaves decrease their pace of work as a form of resistance. Franklin and Loren
add that women working doing household chores could undermine their enslavers. To this extent,
Gray narrates of the execution of a woman for poisoning her enslaver.
Geggus documents that the day-to-day forms of resistance appealed to the majority of
slaves. In this case, the slaves frustrated and annoyed their owners at every opportunity.23
According
to him, day-to-day acts of resistance offered the satisfaction that the masters did not have absolute
powers and that even the slaves could empower themselves. On the other hand, owners complained
of lazy and troublesome slaves - who instead of working, pilfered food and other valuables, set fire
to properties, or wandered around public entertainments.24
But, the reality was that the slaves
forcefully expressed opposition to their oppressors. Sporadic acts of resistance resulted in a
permanent undercurrent trend that became deeply embedded in the American society. According to
Franklin and Loren, the slaves did not draw motivation from a sense of class solidarity but rather
from the desire to temporarily relieve them from their subject status.
The Experiences of Runaways
Slaves who managed to escape gave narratives of their experiences of slavery. Brown, for
example, narrated an incredible flight after being packed in a shipping crate.25
Fedric and Charles
16
Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden. Harriet Tubman: Riding the Freedom Train. Lerner Publications, 2002. p.
23
17
Ibid
18
Timothy James Lockley, Runaway Slave Communities in South Carolina. 2007.
http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/lockley.html (accessed February 15, 2021).
19
Frederick Douglass, My bondage and my freedom. Oxford University Press, 2019. p. 323
20
Michael P. Johnson, "Runaway Slaves and the Slave Communities in South Carolina, 1799 to 1830." The
William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History 38, no. 3 (1981): p. 427
21
John Hope Franklin and Schweninger Loren. Runaway Slaves : Rebels on the Plantation. New York: Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 23
22
Ibid
23
David Geggus, "Slave rebellion during the Age of Revolution." In Curaçao in the Age of Revolutions, 1795-
1800, 23-56. Brill, 2014. p. 27
24
John Hope Franklin and Schweninger Loren. Runaway Slaves : Rebels on the Plantation. New York: Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 24
25
Henry Brown Box. Narrative of the life of Henry Box Brown, written by himself. Univ of North Carolina
Press, 2008. p. 56
4. 4
also explain how they suffered extreme brutality during slavery and only managed to get away
because of his kindness to his master’s dogs.26
One of the best-known runaway slaves was Douglass,
who expressed the bittersweet experience of finding freedom. Initially, Douglass was happy about
leaving slavery and gaining his freedom.27
However, he still felt insecure and lonely in the free state
and lived with the fear of being recaptured. Despite escaping, he was liable to be returned to his
master and subjected to torture.28
Douglass considers this fear to be enough to damp his enthusiasm
despite being overcome by loneliness.
Stowe provides evidence of a fair picture of the changes in the lives of fugitive slaves from
the experiences of Eliza Harris, who ran away to prevent the sale of her young son to another
slaveholder.29
A similar character is depicted by Jim in Twain’s book as a runaway slave who
manages to make friends and protect another servant, Huck. While Twain portrays Jim as a person
with contrasting characters of being sympathetic and racist, the relationship between the white boy
and the slave was an indication of the possibility of a post-slavery society.30
The accounts of Toni
Morrison also provide the experiences of a fugitive from the voice of a woman. In this narrative,
Sethe, a runaway woman, preferred killing her child to letting her be enslaved.31
Theoretical Perspective
The general strain theory provides a sociological explanation of the reactions of the slaves to
the lack of correspondence between their wants and needs. The theory was developed by Robert
Agnew, who argued that individuals experience strain in their feelings, emotions, and frustrations.32
The strain, therefore, became persistent with the continued mistreatment of the slaves. According
to Agnew, there are three forms of strain.33
The first form occurs when there is a disjunction
between reality and the expectations of an individual. In this case, the feeling of unfair treatment is
likely to result in retaiation with an extreme reaction. Another form of strain occurs when a person
loses something valued. Agnew considers this situation to be more distressing when a second party
is responsible for the loss.34
In the context of this paper, an example of such a loss would be
separation from a family member through the sale of slaves. The final type of strain is the
experiences of negative stimuli in an aversive situation such as assault, which may trigger resistance.
In the event of the occurrence of a strain, Agnew argues that individuals develop coping
strategies in the form of attempting retribution, limiting the strain, accepting responsibility, or
initiating an emotional response.35
The latter case occurs when an individual is not in a position to
change the strain. In the context of slavery, resistance behaviours were initiated as a coping
mechanism. However, Rocque argues that the probability of an individual responding to strain with
resistance is determined by the extent of negative affect elicited.36
Additionally, the slaves desired to
achieve a feeling of equity and contingencies such as social control. In this case, the most application
of the theory is to explain the effect on strains to the state of slavery on the various forms of
resistance. This paper applies the general strain theory to the experiences of African-American
26
Francis Fedric and Lee Charles. Slave life in Virginia and Kentucky; or, fifty years of slavery in the southern
states of America. Wertheim, Macintosh, and Hunt, 1863. p. 76-77
27
Frederick Douglass, My bondage and my freedom. Oxford University Press, 2019. p. 179
28
Ibid p. 341-354
29
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Or, Life Among the Lowly. Gale, Sabin Americana, 2012. p. 133-
140
30
Mark Twain, Adventures of huckleberry finn. Univ of California Press, 2003. p. 56, 73
31
Toni Morrison, Beloved. 1987. New York: Vintage , 2004. Chapter 8
32
Michael Rocque, "Strain, coping mechanisms, and slavery: a general strain theory application." Crime, law
and social change 49, no. 4 (2008): p. 247
33
Robert Agnew, "Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency." Criminology 30, no. 1
(1992): 52.
34
Ibid p. 54
35
Ibid p. 61
36
Michael Rocque, "Strain, coping mechanisms, and slavery: a general strain theory application." Crime, law
and social change 49, no. 4 (2008): p. 251
5. 5
slaves during confinement. The theory, therefore, offers significant insights to the motivations for
rebellion, running away and day to day resistance.
6. 6
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