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Former slave testimonials
Ohio Historical society ^ | 4/8/2015 | Ohio Historical society

Posted on 04/08/2015 8:17:16 AM PDT by cripplecreek

Last night I stumbled across a collections of interviews conducted in the 1930s with blacks who had been born into slavery. They're kind of hard to read since they're written as the words were spoken with a heavy southern black accent.

Most interesting to me is the lack of anger from these former slaves. In fact, some spoke quite fondly of their former owners. At worst, they spoke with indifference of their former owners.

None of this matches the rage filled narrative of today with the endless claims of payment due.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Society
KEYWORDS: freedom; slavery; society
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To: cripplecreek
When I was a little boy, I had a great uncle in a rest home with Charlie Smith and I became friends with him. He was the last African born American slave. If you want to hear a slave talk about his life, there is audio.

MASH HERE
41 posted on 04/08/2015 9:11:20 AM PDT by DocRock (All they that TAKE the sword shall perish with the sword. Matthew 26:52 Gun grabbers beware.)
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To: central_va
Tell me why did New York insurance companies, all still in business even today, offer life insurance for slaves? Couldn’t an owner just work their slaves to death then collect the insurance? Why didn’t that happen?

I'm presuming since slaves were property, that similar to an arson fire, an insurance company would not pay until an adjuster ascertained if the death of a slave was due to an accident or mistreatment.

42 posted on 04/08/2015 9:15:09 AM PDT by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: DocRock

Charlie Smith probably was a fraud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Smith_%28centenarian%29


43 posted on 04/08/2015 9:15:41 AM PDT by vladimir998
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To: central_va

My reason for posting this was simply as a means of comparing slavery of then with the slavery of today.

Those who desperately seek to avoid honest discussion of the facts are acting like the overseers of old trying to keep the slaves on the plantation of today.


44 posted on 04/08/2015 9:21:19 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

Interesting but there are no black slaves today in America. But there are black people trying to scam 1000 different benefits via the slavery of their ancestors AND ITS A SCAM! Same as affirmative action is a scam. Blacks are over represented in Federal Gov’t jobs and in other levels of gov’t. I am generalizing of course.

I don’t see any of them going back to Africa due to American racism. African immigrants are shocked by the generally rotten and ungrateful attitude even in educated blacks. Such as we saw in Reverend Wrights well healed congregation.

To use black parlance -— “They be tripping on themselves” Meaning having inflated egos full of gimme gimme gimme. Not all. Everyday I encounter blacks who are modest. But their leaders are all scam artist, money grubbing demagogues especially the slime balls in the Congressional black caucus and the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of America. And the Benjamin Crump law firm


45 posted on 04/08/2015 9:22:21 AM PDT by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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To: central_va; cripplecreek
Practically every nation on the face of the earth, at one time or another had slavery or its equivalent. Those who feel a need to bash America over the subject, are simply using it as an excuse to bash America.

The anecdotal narratives of former slaves & former masters, are a vital source for historic reference, of course. And those interested in an objective understanding will certainly look at such sources. Probably the best of these would be the recollections of the foremost ex-slave of the latter Nineteenth Century, the great Negro educator Booker T. Washington. Consider how he handled the subject of relations between the parties in his classic appeal in the 1890s: Booker T. Washington Address.

46 posted on 04/08/2015 9:23:48 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: dennisw
Interesting but there are no black slaves today in America.

Not in physical bondage but definitely a lot are in ideological political bondage.
47 posted on 04/08/2015 9:26:38 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

Fascinating, thanks.


48 posted on 04/08/2015 9:34:44 AM PDT by Defiant (Making Stephy a news anchor is like making an arsonist the fire chief.)
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To: gop4lyf
They had no other frame of reference, so many of them never even thought of trying to escape...

An extreme example of this can be found in today's North Korea.

49 posted on 04/08/2015 9:35:08 AM PDT by Leaning Right (Why am I holding this lantern? I am looking for the next Reagan.)
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To: Regal

No it isn’t, it is like talking about slaves being treated well.

You forget that until the Americans and British and white men decided that slavery was wrong and started a crusade to end it around the world, it was normal.

The fact is though, that it has not been eradicated in places like Africa and the Middle East, and Asia.


50 posted on 04/08/2015 9:36:39 AM PDT by ansel12 (Palin--Mr President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke.)
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To: cripplecreek

I went to the Old Slave Mart Museum in Charleston last year. It documents the slave trade in Charleston and elsewhere. One poster has a timeline of when many other countries outlawed their slavery.

The thing that most stood out for me was that the NUMBER ONE characteristic among the slaves was FAMILY, and keeping it together.

The other interesting point was how few slaveowners there actually were (like a dozen or so that owned 90% of the slaves in SC, but don’t quote me) at least of the potential Simon Legree type.


51 posted on 04/08/2015 9:42:43 AM PDT by gnickgnack2 (QUESTION obama's AUTHORITY)
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To: IronJack

“Were slaves mistreated? Sure, some were. But they were the exception, not the rule.”

They were human beings who were owned and forced to do hard labor, and their children were taken away and sold.

You have an odd understanding of mistreatment.


52 posted on 04/08/2015 9:46:04 AM PDT by Oliviaforever
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To: Regal
While I agree with your statement my guess is, and it is only a guess, is that as slaves they had much better lives (eating, housing, clothing) than if they were not slaves. Was it wrong, absolutely, was it worse than they would have had, I doubt it. My mother picked cotton in the 30’s and she tells of her father going to the bank to borrow money to plant, the banker said “don't you need some money to cloth your (9) children?” Granddad said, nope, they may be naked but they are going to be the fattest little naked kids you ever saw.
53 posted on 04/08/2015 9:51:02 AM PDT by Jolla
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To: varyouga

Today , we are all subjected to economic enslavement wherein our taxes must support the laziest and most indolent of our society.

We labor under the yoke of this unjust oppression our entire lives

That is a tragedy, and wars have been fought for less.


54 posted on 04/08/2015 9:57:39 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The time is now to form up into leaderless cells of 5 men or less.)
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To: Jolla

Yeah pretty much all labor prior to WWII was hard labor. My great grandmother plowed fields with horses and cut wheat with a scythe. She also spent weeks at a time taking care of younger sisters (and the farm) when her parents were away at Ann Arbor with the baby who had polio.


55 posted on 04/08/2015 10:01:31 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

Slavery is in and of itself brutal, I see grand parelles between the slavery of past plantation owners and the slavery of the current liberal democrat plantations of today.

It is no secret that much of brutality slaves endured was at the hands of black slave drivers much like today, the democrat plantation produces power, the slaves today are given just enough to keep them obedient to the owners, but the enforcement of obedience is the job of the black slave drivers (who profit greatly) to ensure blacks remain on the plantation and those who have escaped are diminished, ridiculed, mocked and enticed to give back to the owners from whom they escaped, their only requirement is loyalty to the democrat slave owners and to remain quiet, so many submit to this delusion, yes the parallels are many, this has always been the case, the only difference is the circumstances.

In fact slavery has never been abolished it has just been more creative, I believe if you compare the slavery of yesterday and today the slavery of today is far more brutal and deadly, for instance it is not uncommon to see at the democrat plantation in Chicago an average of ten slaves brutally murdered in one week, fifty two weeks per year and that is just one plantation out of multitudes pumping out power for the democrat plantation owners, the blood flows from the slaves and is devoured by the democrat slave owners.

It should be noted their are different plantations segregated by usefulness to the democrat owners each plantation filled with varied groups according to their delusional group desires, latino’s in on one plantation, gays on another; on and on like that, none know that when owners have achieved their wicked goals, they will all be destroyed in one bloody massacre cut down as chaff to be fodder for the fire.

All of the above is just my opinion based on common knowledge of the past and observation of the present, one may of course conclude much differently, It appears to me all Americans will be (if something significant does not happen soon) slaves to the Progressive Liberal Democrat Communist Party Plantation.


56 posted on 04/08/2015 10:04:10 AM PDT by PoloSec ( Believe the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again)
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To: IronJack
Were slaves mistreated? Sure, some were. But they were the exception, not the rule.

Life sucks to be a slave but life is great today for their great great grandchildren. Who use America's past slavery as a way to guilt trip whites into giving them free money, affirmative action and various welfare bennies

57 posted on 04/08/2015 10:07:31 AM PDT by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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To: PoloSec

The slaves of today don’t appear to be learning any useful skills aside from how to scam the system for more free stuff.

On the other hand, I know some African immigrants who came here with nothing and have built lives to be proud of.


58 posted on 04/08/2015 10:13:15 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: dennisw
The good old days will come around again.


59 posted on 04/08/2015 10:15:39 AM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

They’re called the Slave Narratives and there are hundreds of individual interviews done with former slaves as part of the WPA in the 1930’s. I’ve read a bunch of them, nowhere near all, and they’re fascinating. And yes, in many cases the former slaves speak fondly of their former owners and recount many small acts of kindness that were shown to them. Others talk of more strict owners, and a very small minority recall owners who were downright cruel.


60 posted on 04/08/2015 10:22:58 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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