Peter Randolph was born c. 1825 in Prince George County, Virginia, on the Brandon Plantation. He was enslaved upon birth and owned by Carter H. Edloe, who also held his mother and four or five siblings in bondage. Randolph's father was enslaved on a nearby plantation, and died when Randolph was approximately ten. Edloe had written a will directing that upon his death his slaves be freed and land he owned be sold, in part to pay his debts, but also to finance sending his former slaves to wh...

Peter Randolph's "Sketches of Slave Life" offers a poignant and unflinching glimpse into the brutal realities of American slavery through a series of vivid narratives and personal recollections. Written with a literary style that blends evocative imagery and earnest testimony, Randolph'Äôs work illustrates the psychological and physical torment endured by enslaved individuals, set against the backdrop of mid-19th century America. The book is a piercing indictment of the institution of slav...

Peter Randolph was born a slave in 1825 (?), was freed before the American Civil War, and became a clergyman in the Baptist tradition, dying in 1897. This is his 1893 autobiography. The latter third of the book is a slightly edited re-publication of a pamphlet he published in 1855 (so before the Civil War) entitled “Sketches Of Slave Life." This recording omits chapter fourteen of "From Slave Cabin To Pulpit" because it is only a several-pages-long list of friends of the author with no nar...

This book is the first anthology of the autobiographical writings of Peter Randolph, a prominent nineteenth-century former slave who became a Black abolitionist, pastor, and community leader. Randolph’s story is unique because he was freed and relocated from Virginia to Boston, along with his entire plantation cohort. A lawsuit launched by Randolph against his former master’s estate left legal documents that corroborate his autobiographies.Randolph's writings give us a window into ...

This collection of landmark slave narratives demonstrates how a diverse group of writers challenged the conscience of a nation and laid the foundations of the African American literary traditionNo literary genre speaks as directly and as eloquently to the brutal contradictions in American history as the slave narrative. The works collected in this volume present unflinching portrayals of the cruelty and degradation of slavery while testifying to the African-America...

This book contains slave narratives from Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Reverend Noah Davis, Josiah Henson, James W. C. Pennington, John Thompson, and Henry Watson, all of whom had major connections to Maryland. It also contains twenty-two additional slave narratives collected by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and two others.The difficulties of Harriet Tubman, often called “The Moses of Her People,” which is the title of the famous boo...

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is an autobiography by Frederick Douglass, a prominent African American abolitionist, orator, and writer. The book was first published in 1845 and became an instant bestseller, helping to fuel the abolitionist movement in the United States.In the book, Douglass describes his experiences as a slave on Maryland's Eastern Shore, his escape to freedom in the North, and his life as a free man. He vividly portrays the brutality of slavery and the deh...

In The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina, escaped slave John Andrew Jackson seeks to educate his readers on the horrors of slavery. He spares no details in relating the murder of his sister, the separation of his family, and his own frequent whippings at the hands of a "Christian" master and mistress. He offers a scathing review of white religious hypocrisy, criticizing those who could not see the contradiction between worshiping a merciful God on Sundays and holding slaves ...

In "The Story of Mattie J. Jackson," L. S. Thompson weaves a poignant narrative that explores the complexities of identity, resilience, and community through the lens of its titular character, Mattie J. Jackson. The novel is crafted in a lyrical yet accessible prose style, drawing on rich imagery and vivid characterizations that evoke the cultural landscape of the American South in the early 20th century. Thompson deftly intertwines historical events with personal anecdotes, creating a com...

MORE than two hundred years have elapsed since the first cargo of slaves was landed on the banks of the James River, in the colony of Virginia, from the West coast of Africa. From the introduction of slaves in 1620, down to the period of the separation of the Colonies from the British Crown, the number had increased to five hundred thousand; now there are nearly four million. In fifteen of the thirty-one States, Slavery is made lawful by the Constitution, which binds the several States into o...

Running A Thousand Miles For Freedom is a landmark antebellum slave narrative that combines adventure, testimony, political argument, and moral indictment. Recounting the Crafts' daring 1848 escape from Georgia to the North, the work turns disguise, mobility, and literacy into instruments of liberation. Its central episode—Ellen Craft's passing as a white male enslaver while William travels as her servant—exposes the absurdities and violences of racial, gendered, and legal hierarchies in t...

In "Mary S. Peake: The Colored Teacher at Fortress Monroe," Lewis C. Lockwood meticulously chronicles the life and contributions of Mary S. Peake, a pioneering African American educator during the Civil War era. Set against the backdrop of Fortress Monroe, Lockwood's narrative deftly intertwines historical research with biographical storytelling, showcasing Peake's vital role in educating formerly enslaved individuals. The prose is characterized by a clarity that illuminates Peake's determ...