"I was within the circle: so that I neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear

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"I was within the circle: so that I neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear." (Frederick Douglass) What was the significance of the slave narratives and their authorship?

Anti-slavery writings and slave narratives were undeniably significant and helpful in the abolitionists' fight against slavery. Many called them "the abolitionist movement's voice of reality." As they were first hand accounts of slavery from the African American slaves themselves. They depicted life as a slave and life after, and disproved the opinion that life as a slave was a happy one. They showed the "reality" of what was happening to slaves, and the mistreatment they were suffering at the hands of their masters.

William Lloyd Garrison, David Walker, Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were some of the most important abolitionist writers. Each of these writers had different experiences with slavery, but they all had one thing in common: they tell of the abominable institution of slavery and how greatly it affected their lives.

Frederick Douglass wrote his own slave narrative - Narrative in the life of Frederick Douglass, (which went on to become the biggest and best selling slave narrative still today) to give north Americans a closer account of slavery, it told about sexual, physical and mental abuse, the horrors of family separation and the inhuman workload at the hands of his master (presumed to also be his father however remained unknown) and in turn helped dismiss the pro slavery arguments, and blatantly exposed the sad unknown lives of a slave, he provided a powerful voice for slaves during the whole slave period of American history and he is still honoured today for his contributions to the fight against racial injustice.

Douglas himself was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland in approximately 1817. He has, "...no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it." He became known as an eloquent speaker for the cause of the abolitionists. Having himself been kept as a slave until he escaped from Maryland in 1838, and through the popularity of his writings, especially his narrative, he was able to deliver very impassioned speeches about the role of the slave holders and the slaves. However, he did come under scrutiny as many Northern Americans tried to discredit his tales as they were thought of as damaging, but no one was ever able to disprove his statements.

On the other hand Frederick Douglass does offer a biased review of slavery, as he was born into it and never knew any other life outside of slavery, yet even in his bias he is able to detect and detail the differences in the slave holders cruelty and that to which he was subjected. From being whipped and humiliated daily, "a very severe whipping... for being awkward," to being able to find his own work and save some money, "I was able to command the highest wages given to the most experienced caulkers," he is able to give the reader a more true picture of slavery. His poignant and outspoken speeches raised the rage of many Northerners who felt he was over exaggerating and painting a bad picture of their fellow people, communities and country and many still felt the slaves deserved their position in life as it was "in God's interests" that they serve white people who in turn cater and give to the economy and "bring about a better life for all." Yet there were others that believe black slaves deserve to have as many rights as white people and were entitled to freedom of speech.
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Carrying on from this, as Frederick Douglas' narrative and many others were true tales of slavery, they became immensely popular with the public and this is how Frederick Douglas and other writers were able to become Anti- slavery lecturers and tour through North America, even venturing as far as Europe to tell of their experiences. Their stories were significant for many reasons, they were escape stories, which American readers loved. They were stories of slavery to freedom. They were classic American tales, in that they were ascension narratives -- stories of people rising out of the depths of ...

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