Entry 6 Continued ( Brief Timeline of 1840's)

1840 - Martin Van Buren is defeated for reelection by William Henry Harrison for President

1840- The population of the United States is 17,063,353

1841- The Supreme Court of the U.S. decided the ship Amistad, that the Africans who had wrested control of the ship, should be free.

1842- First Wagon party head out on the Orgeon Trail and Mexian troups invade San Antonio.

1843- Hawaii gains Independence

1844- Telegraph messages are now being sent and James K. Polk becomes President

1845- Sewing machine was invented, texas becomes a state, Manifest Destiny was endorsed by the president.

1846- Frederick Douglass's novel is gaining a lot of attention. Mexico and the USA are at war.

1847- War still wages on, first adhesive stamps are invtented, Mormons setlle Salt lake City.

1848- Zachary Taylor becomes President, a Congressman named Lincoln speaks out against the handling of the war with Mexico, and the 1st women's rights convention is held.

1849- The Department of the Interior is established. The first woman Doctor is recognized, and the Gold Rush to California goes into full swing.

entry 5

William Wells Brown's slave narrative goes into detail about his personal experiences and his escape from slavery. Reliving the story of his escape mirrors one of the commonly followed literary traditions within the slave narrative genre. He describes his struggle for freedom and the several attempts and hardships he had to go through to finally achieve independence. The struggle for independence is very important for slaves to portray in order to accurately depict the lives of slaves to the readers.

In contrast with other slave narratives that have been studied within the genre, William Wells Brown does not go into personal stories and experiences involving religion and Christian redemption. Brown completely fails to mention any form of spirituality in his short narrative, while other popular slave writers at the time, such as James Albert Gronniosaw, Old Elizabeth, and Lucy A. Delaney focus almost exclusively on the redemption aspect of their lives.

When compared stylistically, Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass wrote fairly similar narratives. Keeping in mind that these narratives were all from different perspectives and all had their obvious differences, these three narratives were similar in the fact that they were all about their lives as slaves and their particular struggle and escape for freedom. At the time, novels such as these showed proslavery individuals how cruel and inhumane slavery was and how emancipation needed to be established. Narratives that were written and published about slavery but after emancipation were used to show how inequality still existed in the North and South while simultaneously giving a description of slavery.

Entry 6 -Historical Moment of the Narrative.

During the time in which this narrative was received, there was a lot happening in the United States of America. The Fugitive Slave Laws of 1793 were in effect and by the 1820's, they were a hot topic in Congress. Furthermore, The United States was expanding greatly. In the West, the country had acquired a vast amount of land from Mexico and a few other countries. Manifest Destiny, The Oregon Trail, and the California Gold Rush were all in full effect by the 1840's. Regarding slavery, and interesting case was the Amistad case of 1841. John Quincy Adams argued for a group of slaves that violently took over a cuban schooner and ended up off the coast of the U.S.A. The courts ruled in favor of the Africans and they returned home in 1842. Abolitionists and the Abolitionist movement saw this as a huge victory at the time. The 19th Century saw a vast expansion of land, but also a vast increase in abolitionists. Popular abolitionist works included "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (1845) and "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," which was written by Harriet Jacobs. Plantation life for slaves during the 1840's was still common and though the slave trade had been abolished, slavery was still going strong. Beatings and atrocities were being carried out every day against blacks and life was extremely hard for slaves in the U.S.A. Other historical happenings of this time period include the US-Mexican War, the annexation of Texas, and earlier the Missouri Compromise directed much of the nations policy towards whether new states would be free or allowed to have slaves. Presidents of the 1840's included William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, and Zachary Taylor. Also, In the 1840's there were over 2 million slaves and this number grew to over 4 million by 1860!

Sources:

Freehoff, Francis. "War of 1812: Battle of the Thames."
Military History Magazine: October, 1996. Print.

Tise, Larry E. "Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in America"

University of Georgia Press. Athens, Georgia: 1987. Print.

Graham, W.H. "Review of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass."
New York Tribune,10 June 1845. docsouth.unc.edu: Accessed 19, Nov. 2009.

Entry 4-Sources and Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

William Wells Brown

Brown, William Wells, "From fugitive slave to free man: the autobiographies of William Wells Brown." New York: Mentor Books, 1993. Print.

This book tells about all of the hardships and experiences that Brown talks about in his narrative and the path that he took to ultimately being free. This source offer the reader an in depth look at the experiences that Brown talks about, the people he works for, and the relationships he had with his family and friends.

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 3: William Wells Brown." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/brown.html
Accessed 20 November 2009

This source tells about the life of William Wells Brown, his work with the underground railroad, and his struggles throughout his life. This source is also very helpful because it lists his achievements and other works. If the reader is interested in any of Brown's other works then they're are clear links and ways to find or identify each one.

Haug, Christine. "William Wells Brown's Narrative of a Fugitive Slave." Victoriana Magazine (2008). www.victoriana.com/history/slavenarratives.htm: Accessed 19 Nov, 2009.

This review of both Brown and his novel is very in depth and explains the literary process that Brown goes through to present his main points, happenings, and themes of his novel. This source also offers animated picutres and examines how the reader is left to form their own opinions after reading the work.

Elder, Arlene. "William Wells Brown." Georgetown Univ. www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr.heath/syllabuild/iguide/brownw.html: Accessed 20 November 2009.

align="left">This article goes over everything about Brown's narrative. It includes major themes, his audience, major issue, comparisons, and other connections that allow the reader to further research and learn about the novel.

Gale, Thomas. "William Wells Brown." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2004. Accessed 20 November 2009: www.encyclopedia.com>

align="left">This source is a comprehensive analysis and boigraphy of the life of William Wells Brown. It offers a timeline, through summary, of his work, relationships, and life. It also previews a lists of his work and offers other sources that have information about Brown.

Entry 3 Continued

William Wells Brown was a supporter of the antislavery movement through his lectures, his personl narrative, and later his plays and dramatic pieces that he composed and preformed. Wells Brown began writing his dramatic pieces in 1856 and gained popular appeal in both black and white society. As a professional fugitive, Wells Brown had to not only satisfy black stereotypes in order for his pieces to be entertaining for whites but also make moral argumentes at the same time to defend his fellow bondsmen.

As a victim of several violent brutalizations under drunken masters, William Wells Brown became a proponent of the termperance movement in the United States. After his escape from slavery in 1834 he resided in Boston for nine years working simultaneously for the Underground Railroad and for the temperance movement. Shorty after arriving in Boston, William Wells Brown wrote out and published his personal narrative. Within two years it went through four editions and published over eight thousand copies. After several years in Boston he got an opportunity to give public speeches which later lead into his anti-slavery lectures. These passionate lectures along with his narrative soon gained Wells Brown mass popularity in the anti-slavery movement.

ENTRY 3

In his journal article, John Ernest mostly summarized the narrative of William Wells Brown. He does, though, make a comparison between Brown an da man who he encounters in London named Joseph Jenkins. Jenkins is a native African who is identified as a "good-looking man, neither black nor white". Ernest pointed out several similarities bewteen Brown and Jenkins. He says that Jenkins was Brown's "genius hero" and that Brown looked up to Jenkins in respect and in appreciation.

Ernest, John. "The Reconstruction of Whiteness: William Wells Brown's The Escape; or, A Leap For Freedom." (1998): 1108-1121. Web. 19 Nov 2009. http://www.jstor.org/.

Gilmore, Paul. "De Genewine Artekil": William Wells Brown, Blackface Minstrelsy, and Abolitionism." American Literature 69.4 (1997): 743-780. Web. 19 Nov 2009. http://www.jstor.org/.

Farrison, W. Edward. "William Wells Brown, Social Reformer." Journal of Negroe Education (1949): 29-39. Web. 19 Nov 2009. http://www.jstor.org/.

entry 1 - significant quotes

"So I was not only hunting for my liberty, but also hunting for a name; though I regarded the latter as of little consequence, if I could but again be the former." (417)

The trials of the past were all lost in hope of the future. The love of liberty, that had been burning in my bosom for years, and had been well nigh extinguished, was now resuscitated." (414)

"Mr. Willi treated me better than Dr. Young ever had; but instead of making me contented and happy, it only rendered me the more miserable, for it enabled me better to appreciate liberty" (411)

"The woman did not die, but it would have been the same if she had" (413)

"My dear sister and two beloved brothers were behind us, and the idea of giving them up, and leaving them forever, made us feel sad. But with all this depression of heart, the thought that I should one day be free, and call my body my own, buoyed me up, and made my heart leap for joy." (404)

"The next morning a blacksmith came in, and put a pair of handcuff's on me, and we started on our way back to the land of whips, chains, and bibles." (405)

Freedom and escape> page 386
Family Ties> page 385
Institution of Slavery> page 404
Similar to the tone of Douglass> page 420

ENTRY 2 (images)

1. Slavery

2. William Wells Brown

3. Edmund Quincy

4. William Wells Brown

ENTRY 2 (Continued)

The Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave.Written By Himself, was published in 1847 at the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25. Cornhill. Edmund Quincy edited the narrative and wrote a letter to Brown that was published along with the narrative. In the letter, Quincy says "To correct a few errors, which appeared to be merely clerical ones, committed in the hurry of composition, under unfavorable circumstances, and to suggest a few curtailments, is all that I have ventured to do" (Brown). This shows that Quincy did not make much change to Brown's narrative, therefore giving it more credibility. Edmund Quincy was an abolitionist and an author who was very active in the anti-slavery movement. He was an editor for many abolitionist papers. Quincy was born in 1808 and died in 1877.

ENTRY 2

William Wells Brown was born in 1814 in Lexington, Kentucky. He was the son of a white plantation owner named George Higgins and a slave woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth had seven children, all with different fathers. Brown's siblings were Solomon, Leander, Benjamin, Joseph, Millford, and Elizabeth. In January, 1834, Brown escaped to the North and gained freedom. In the summer of 1834 he married Elizabeth Spooner who was also a free slave. They had three children together, one of which passed away soon after birth. From 1849 till 1854, Brown toured through Europe giving lectures over anti-slavery issues. The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850 and because of his fear of being caught, Brown had British abolitionists purchase his freedom. He eventually returned to the United States where he wrote several other works, including Clotel, St. Domingo, Three Years in Europe and My Southern Home: Or, the South and Its People. During the last years of his life, William Wells Brown continued to travel and give lectures about slavery. Brown died in 1884 in Chelsea, Massachusetts.


"William Wells Brown." Documenting the American South. November 12, 2009. University of North Carolina Press, Web. 12 November 2009. .

ENTRY 1-summary/key figures/author/publication and more

William Wells Brown published his narrative, Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave, in 1847. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky to his mother, Elizabeth. He was owned by Dr. Young and was a house slave for Grove Cook. At this time, Brown found his mother and tried to be with her as much as he could. Next, He moved to Major Freeland in the city and his mother was there as well. Brown attempted to run away but was unsuccessful. His punishment was to be tied up in the smokehouse and receive a number of lashes. The next significant thing to happen was that Brown was hired out to Mr. Colburn at a hotel in Missouri. Brown didn't like the fact that when he was sent to the hotel, his entire family was sold off to different owners. Later, when Brown was working for Mr. Lovejoy, he was attacked by boys with snowballs and sticks while on an errand. One of the boy's fathers said that Brown had hurt his son. This father, named McKinney, wanted revenge and beat Brown so badly that he could not walk for the next five weeks. Brown eventually lost his job and was hired to work on a steamboat. Thinking about his mother and family, Brown decided to visit them and vowed to never run away without his mother and sister. After working his steamboat job, Brown is then given back to Mr. Haskell. Haskell has since become religious and Brown is required to go to services every week. Later on, Brown was hired to Mr. Walker to help ship slaves down the river. At Mr. Walker's home, Brown made the mistake of filling the wine glasses too high and was immediately sent to the jailer. The jailer was instructed to whip Brown and was paid a dollar for his service. However, Brown tricked another man into giving the jailer the note and money that his master had given him so the other man was whipped instead of him. He later goes on to say that he feels much regret for this act of evil that he committed. Next, he witnesses a slave being killed in New Orleans. The man was running away from his attackers and ran into the water. He never surfaced again. He then returns to St. Louis and spends the "longest year of his life" working for Mr. Walker. His master was hard pressed for money while he was gone and Brown learns that all of his family had been sold away. Next, Brown and his master have a discussion about the possibility of him being sold. At the end of the discussion, Brown is told that he has about a week to find a new master. Brown now heads to the city to find a new master. He meets his sister and mother and they begin to talk about running away. His sister is in prison and can not possibly ever be free. However, he convinces his mother to run away, even though she didn't want to leave her children. They make their escape the next night at nine. During their journey that find a way to cross the river into Illinois and then go to a town called Alton. At this time, they start traveling through the woods and use the North star as a guide. About a week into their journey it starts to rain heavily and they run out of food and water on the tenth day. The next day they arrive at a farm house. They are given food and the settlers tell them to travel by day instead of by night. As their escape continued, they eventually run into three men who end up capturing them and taking them back to St. Louis. They were around 200 miles from St. louis when they were stopped by them men. Next, Brown and his mother were thrown into prison and taken beack to their Masters. Brown is sold to Mr. Willi upon his return and he is hired out almost immediately. Brown's mom was sold to work on a cotton plantation and he goes to visit her when she is getting on the boat to leave. After this, while working on a steamer, the Captain of the boat offers to buy Brown for seven hundred dollars. William's master accepts and he begins to work as a carriage driver. Mrs. Price, William's new master's wife, wants William to marry another slave at the plantation named Maria. However, William liked Eliza, so Mrs. price purchased her. Williams decided not to marry anyone while in slavery though. The next significant thing to happen was when the Price family took a long trip and Brown served as a steward for them. The trip eventually lead to Cincinatti. While up in the free states, Brown makes the decision to run away again. On New Year's Eve, Brown makes his way off the boat and takes cover until night fall. He uses the North star to navigate and his provisions run out on the fourth day. Brown presses on but eventually catches a cold and becomes very sick. A man with the last name of Brown (Williams would eventually take this as his last name) finds Brown and takes him back to his home. The family nurses Williams back to health. He is allowed to eat at the table with them and William stays with them for over twelve days. His next step to freedom was when the family gave his provisions and he set out for Canada. He ended up running out of provisions after four more days and ends up exchanging labor to a family in return for food. After he works for a little bit he travels for three days and ends up in Cleveland, Ohio. He spends the Winter there and waits tables to support himself. When the lake thaws he makes his trek into Canada and began helping fugitive slaves escape too.

Tone- Pessimistic. Brown's tone is very conversational and not nearly as heroic as Frederick Douglass's narrative.