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¶ … Letter From an Escaped Slave to his Former Master" by Jackson Whitney. Specifically, it will explain, analyze, and critique the document, while explaining the historical context in which it exists and the point-of-view it creates which gives us insight into the events of that time.
Jackson Whitney's impassioned letter to his former master is a microcosm of history. Not only does it emphatically indicate what was in his mind and heart, it illustrates the great stresses slave families were put under by their unfeeling and unsympathetic owners. Families were torn apart, usually forever. Jackson's letter shows his bitterness at being removed from his family, and it gives a deep insight into slave families of the time, and what they faced. Not only that, it indicates the steps slaves would undertake to free themselves. Jackson went all the way to Canada where he could not be sent back to his master. He left his family behind for freedom, which shows just how strong the pull for freedom was. This former slave is not simply talking about oppression and ownership; he is talking about pure humanity. He admonishes his former owner for believing in God and yet creating such an unchristian atmosphere in his home and the lives of his slaves. This is the core of the slave movement in the South, and this letter gives a compelling glimpse into the minds of Southern slave owners, who had no problem reconciling their religious beliefs with their cruel treatment of their slaves. Reading this letter is looking back into history to a time where people suffered unimaginable cruelties, and the masters reconciled it with the treatment of beings that were less than human.
Jackson's letter makes me angry and sad. It is sad that our own history fostered such cruelty. It is heartbreaking that Jackson had to be separated from his family, and had to choose between freedom and his family. This letter is more than an impassioned plea for kindness and humanity; it is an important historical document that illustrates a horrific time in American history. It graphically demonstrates one of the reasons there was such a rift between North and South that it eventually ended in war.
References
Whitney, Jackson. "A Letter From an Escaped Slave to his Former Master." Slave Testimony: Two centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies. John W. Blassing, ed., (1977).
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