Differing Versions of Slavery: Washington and Jacobs

 For my first blog post of AFAM Lit, I will be writing about the second prompt, with the contrasting element being Jacobs’s and Washington’s differing experiences/opinions on slavery, such as the experiences they had through it, their liberation from it, and finally, unpacking how their wildly different lives under slavery play into their beliefs in the future. This could also explain why maybe Jacob’s seems to be so opposed to being bought represents a continued resistance to slavery while Washinton’s “casting down your bucket” mantra speaks to his more idealized view of slavery.

 First, we will be discussing Harriet Jacobs from her narration in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Seven Years Concealed''. Originally, she did not know she was a slave, only finding out at the age of six. Her family lived in their own home, with a carpenter father who worked hard in order to buy her freedom. Even though he never does, she believes that when her mistress dies, Jacob’s will be set free, but that does not come to fruition either. Instead, Jacob’s gets transferred to the Flint’s, a cruel and bitter family who promise to never set her free. 

Slavery is bad enough without having to additionally endure the constant sexual approaches of Mr. Flint. It traumatizes her, and makes her wish she was never born to look the way she was. “If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her the greatest curse. That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave (28).” She has no one to talk to, ashamed to even bring it up with her grandmother, and is put at Mr. Flint’s mercy. Her only way to get back at him is to turn to another man, eventually having two children with Mr. Sands, another white man. She would rather give herself up to another man just to spite Mr. Flint than to succumb to his advances. To her, Mr. Flint is the most odious man there is, because not only does he control her labor and her houselife, he even attempts to control her body, almost enticed more every time she rejects him. 

Her life in slavery is so bad that she prefers to spend seven years locked up in a three foot tall attic. And yet not once did she regret it. To her, spending seven years enduring harsh summers and freezing winters, not being able to see her children, and being forced to lie down with little to no mobility is still better than slavery. Her resistance is such that even when she eventually does get free, she is upset by the fact that the Flint family is still rewarded for her freedom. “I despise the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully belonged to him or his (166).” She would almost rather live under the threat of slavery once again, continually under chase from the Flint’s, if it meant she could further flaunt her bodily autonomy without any benefit to them. Her journey was full of nothing but hardships and struggle, and yet, it is all completely worth it and justified to her. Anything is better than returning to the slavery she once had to endure. 

Jacob's in the attic

Washington's opinion is very different, driven mainly by his own experiences from it as detailed in “Up from Slavery”. He was freed at the age of ~8, stating that he was born into “miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings. This was so, however, not because my owners were especially cruel, for they were not, as compared with many others.” His descriptions here seem quite exaggerated. Obviously slavery is never good, but compared to Jacob’s stories, he lives an easy life. They too get their own cabin, and his most serious hardship he describes as a slave is never eating together as a family at the dinner table and having to wear rough, uncomfortable shirts. Hardly an issue compared to sexual harassment. 

Flax shirt material he had to wear

Even the relation between slaves and masters seems quite amicable. As his time during slavery occurs during the civil war, “when the two young masters were brought home wounded, the sympathy of the slaves was shown in many ways. They were just as anxious to assist in the nursing as the family relatives of the wounded.” Even after the war when all the slaves, including Washington, were freed, he mentions slaves tending to their masters or even still paying back their freedom, even if legally they were no longer the property of anyone but themselves. This further explains why later on in the same chapter he states he does not cherish the bitterness towards slave owners, almost taking their side.

His argument is shaped as though individual slave owners did not choose to become who they are, and are instead victims themselves to the same system. He never mentions owners taking responsibility or feeling regret, and how no law or construct was prohibiting slave owners from freeing the people they owned. He also mentions how in fact, African Americans were done a service by Providence, being freed from Africa, and now they should take advantage of their situation, something which he tries to do throughout his story. 

Throughout his life, he attempts to make the best of his situation, striving to learn more and achieve greater things, putting slavery in the past. His example of the hypothetical white boy. who never had to experience slavery but instead being given a much more elevated position without having to do any work of his own, is a perfect example of his ideals. To him, working hard and starting from zero is what makes a person grow and actually be accomplished. However, what he is also implying is that Black people have to sacrifice their own well-being, doing twice the work a white person does just to be treated the same. Unlike Jacob’s, who is always in direct opposition to slavery, Washington sees it as a better starting point for the African American race in America, as it allows them to work their way up 

Me personally, I agree with Jacob’s views and opinions, and I think Washinton just experienced a much simpler version of Slavery, and extrapolated that to all others, as if it did not have a lasting negative impact, but am very open to hearing what you guys have to say in the comments 😃.