Analysis of Ira Berlin’s Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves PDF

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Professor: Michael Dickinson, Essay 2...

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Anna Chen HIST 361 Essay 2

Ira Berlin’s Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves compiles the extensive research of the development of American slavery. In the book, Berlin compiles research from the 17th century to the Civil War emancipation. The book is split into four chapters, the “charter generation,” “plantation generation,” “revolutionary generation,” and the “migration generation”, all focusing on many different regions. The first chapter of Berlin’s Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves follows the “charter generation.” The charter generation was before the plantation generation, slaves were not living under such cruel conditions. Slavery was new at the time, but the trade started to exponentially rise. In the first chapter, Berlin says, “Everywhere, slaves were bought and sold, and over time the importance of commerce-in-persons grew.” It seemed that they lived fairly decent lives and became accustomed to their new lifestyle, such as converting to Christianity, and not only did Europeans own slaves, some African Americans did as well. It was not based on the color of your skin, it was based on a man’s knowledge and their experience that allowed them power and slaves. In the first chapter, enslavement meant that a person had to come under “debt, crime, heresy, official disfavor, or bad luck.” In The Netherlands, many slaves lived independently with their own work, with the promise of a set amount of labor in return for their independence. Many slaves also gained their own freedom. The slaves lived a fairly decent live during the charter generation, but was set to worsen in the “plantation generation.” The second chapter of Berlin’s book details the “plantation generation.” During this

second generation, the idea of slavery and racism worsens. It becomes predominantly clear who the “superior” race is when the slaves arrive in North America. Suddenly, African Americans dropped to the bottom of the social hierarchy and reduced to working on large plantations, as said in chapter 2, “The degradation of black life in mainland North America had many sources, but the largest was the growth of the plantation, a radically different form of social organization and commercial production controlled by a class of men whose appetite for labor was nearly insatiable.” The slaves worked harder and longer hours and as a result, died earlier as well. They had little to no chances of being independent and rarely ever gained property. The plantation generation saw the emergence of the new cash crop, tobacco, the rise of rice and sugar. All these crops demanded heavy doses of labor. This new era went from a society with slaves, to a complete slave society as noted in chapter 2, “The transformation from a society with slaves to a slave society…” Slaves no longer had an ounce of independence, all of their time was spent tilling their master’s land. In chapter 2, Berlin says, “Evidence of the degradation of slave life was everywhere. Violence, isolation, exhaustion, and alienation often led African slaves to profound depression and occasionally to self-destruction.” Masters treated their slaves with little respect and were especially harsh on them. Many slaves felt hopeless but others were resistant, which led to rebellion. Slaves engaged in violent resistance, others banded together in secrecy, resisted and disembraced their new societies, and others escaped. The slave’s resistance fostered a new energy which led to rebellion and to the revolutionary generation The third chapter, the “Revolutionary Generation,” the slaves aimed to gain their freedom in any way possible. The slaves fighting back reinforced the slaveholder’s cruelties towards their slaves. Slaveholders also fought back to try and remain in power over their slaves, as said in chapter 3, “Yet, slaveholders did not surrender their power easily.” Nonetheless there was

pushback on both sides, slaves longed for their freedom, equality, and their kinship. In the North, slavery had been abandoned which increased the population of African American. This created a gateway for African American communities to grow and flourish. Their communities opened up new schools and churches, their new economy rose. African Americans started reminiscing about their homelands, tribes, and local groups. In response to this newfound economy, the South hardened and cracked down heavier on their slaves. Slaves started to escape into the north to gain their freedom, as noted in chapter 3, “Successful flight struck slavery a mighty blow. Nothing strengthened the slaves' hand more than the example of former slaves.” Even as the slaves gained their freedom, they entered a new kind of servitude. Although the road to freedom was surging, it was still slowed, free slaves found themselves living similar lives to the old by entering into a similar former life. They entered into a new type of servitude which created the idea that it was easy for former masters to treat African Americans similar to how they were being treated before. It crippled the chances for former slaves to found housing and employment. Their legal freedom was slowed, they still created a life for themselves in society. New migrants started flowing into the Americas, which paves the way for the generation of migration. Chapter 4, “Migration Generation” of Berlin’s book, circles around the “Second Middle Passage” of slaves and eventually the end of slavery as a whole. Following the Antebellum period and the Civil War, slavery was emancipated. This allowed all slaves their freedom and independence to build families and communities institutions for themselves. After the Second Middle Passage, production started to change for African Americans. Instead of bondage and servitude, African Americans were hired as farms and manufacturers, and under new rules and terms. Many things changed including the “Relations between black and white, master and slave shifted…” as said in chapter 4. Even though slavery was emanciapted, the South was in

desperate need of workers. Freed slaves were abducted and kidnapped and the ones that were promised freedom was denied their right. Northerners and slave owning Southerners fought but in the end, the slaves gained their right to freedom announcing in chapter 4, “With control of their own labor they presumed, came rights they had long been denied or enjoyed only at their owner’s sufferance.” Berlin ends the book by exploring the definition of freedom within the African American communities. How this community struggled and fought so long for freedom, independence, individuality, and respect. Ira Berlin shows an extensive amount of research about the start of American slavery to the end in his Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves. Berlin argues that American slavery developed from small bouts of labor and ownership to a strucual society and culture over the course of three centuries. Throughout Berlin’s book, the lives of slaves are reexperienced during different eras and in different locations. Each chapter analyzed the new phases and how slavery changed through time. Berlin details the different generations and their plights, how they overcame their struggles and still fought back. In the middle and towards the end of Berlin’s book, slavery starts to take a turn for the worse. Free and ex-slaves among others who believed in the emancipation of slavery, started fighting back against those who approve of slavery. The people who fought back and sought to end the slave trade and slavery were abolitionists. Abolitionists start advocating for black liberty and equality in the events leading up to the Civil War. By any means necessary, black advocates fought peacefully and violently to make their voices heard. They did whatever they could from helping ex-slaves settle into new environments, helping current slaves escape, petitioning congress, and boycotted any products created by slave labor. Many abolitionists also published

works to fight slavery as well. People like David Walker publishing an appeal and Frederick Douglas publishing many written works and newspapers to fight against slavery. William Lloyd Garrison founded The Liberator newspaper, an influential abolitionist paper, in hopes that it would influence the emancipation of slavery as well. In 1834, the first Anti-Slavery Society Convention was created, resulting in some slavery states banning abolition groups and their literatures. When slave owners would not listen, abolitionists grew angry and began violent attacks on the slave owners. The abolitionists burned the plantations down, attacked villages where slavery was supported and burned them down to the ground. Prior to the Civil War, activists' ideas were more radical than the strategies from earlier generations of activists. They incorporated more violence than peacefulness, events that partially started the Civil War itself. In the earlier generations, activists opposed the expansion of slavery and fought against that instead of the end of slavery as a whole. According to the lecture materials taught in class, “The first abolitionists were Quakers and free blacks. Quakes believed that all people had the same ‘spark of divinity’ making slaery immoral.” The Quakers and free blacks were the first to become abolitionists, with the Quakers even releasing their slaves, allowing them to receive their freedom. The Quakers traveled the countryside in hopes to teach others and urge slave owners to also free their slaves as well. Along with Quakers, was the American Colonization Society formed in the 1820s. This was an anti-slavery group who sought to bring free blacks back to the Africa in hopes to reunite them with friends and family and bring them back home. All of these strategies were different from the strategies during the Antebellum period because of their lack of violence. Before the Antebellum period, abolitionists peacefully preached to slave owners, the importance of emancipation and freedom, whereas the later abolitionists resorted to violence.

Bibliography Berlin, Ira “Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves” “Central Authentication Service.” VCU. Accessed October 16, 2020. https://www-fulcrum-

org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/epubs/k930bx38r?locale=en....