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The effect this had on many slaves was to make them determined to gain their freedom at all costs.
Family relationships, something most people take for granted, were not considered in the lives of slaves. Two of the narratives note, "At the close of that year I was sold to a Thomas Stanton, and had to be separated from my wife and one daughter, who was about one-month-old" (Smith 13). "Could you have seen that mother clinging to her child, when they fastened the irons upon his wrists; could you have heard her heart-rending groans, and seen her bloodshot eyes wander wildly from face-to-face, vainly pleading for mercy; could you have witnessed that scene as I saw it, you would exclaim, Slavery is damnable!" (Jacobs). Masters commonly sold one or two members of the family, and they were often separated for life.
The families of the enslavers in contrast, were relatively stable. They often were close-knit, and some regarded their slaves as members of the family. They educated them and were kind to them. However, the slaves' lives could be uprooted at any moment, while the enslavers' lives were relatively stable and secure. Owning slaves did not seem to weigh upon most slave owners, and since they regarded slaves as property rather than human beings, their feelings were not considered.
George Fitzhugh believes slaves are the "happiest" and free men are the real slaves; however, it is clear reading these works that is not the case. Venture Smith earned enough money to purchase land and leave a legacy for his children. He writes, "In the aforementioned four years, what wood I cut at Long Island amounted to several thousand cords, and the money which I earned thereby amounted to two hundred and seven pounds...
All of the narratives indicate how hard the slaves work, and how little time they had for enjoyment or rest. They got one set of clothing a year, they had the worst food on the plantation, and they were not protected from their masters, rather, they were often punished and beaten by them. Each of these narratives graphically shows the horrors of slavery, rather than the "happiness" that George Fitzhugh seems to think was the case.
In conclusion, each of these narratives is an important part of black American history. They show the cruelty and horror of slavery, and how each writer made something of themselves when they gained their freedom. By showing the ills of slavery to the American people, they gained abolitionist support and sympathy, and painted a very graphic picture of why slavery should be outlawed.
References
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995.
Equiano, Olaudah (Gustavus Vassa). "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself." I Was Born a Slave: An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives, 1770-1849. Ed. Yuval Taylor. Vol. 1. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1999. 34-180.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. 2004. 20 Oct. 2006. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/JACOBS/hj-site-index.htm
Smith, Venture. "Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America." From African to Yankee Narratives of Slavery and Freedom in Antebellum New England. Ed. Robert J. Cottrol. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998. 1-31.
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