The chattel principle is still visible here. There is always a price on the head of a slave, even when not under the order of a master.

This example shows that the institution of slavery could never fully guarantee a freed slave complete liberty. Essentially, the experience of the free men still were rooted in fear that the freedom they aspired for could be taken away at any moment.

This is another example of how Ball is trying to resist slavery and survive.

Already can be seen the division between the North and the South.

Interesting idea which white slave owners also promote– the idea that the African-American slaves are better of than those white people in servile station who have to provide for themselves. Is this a way for slave owners to persuade their slaves to obey, and in some sense retain the institution of slavery?

Connects to the Jefferson letter we read and agrees with its ideas. For Ball, there is no order for the enslaved in the United States.

I think this sentence is a good portrayal of the institution of slavery which was based on a "chattel principle."

I find it interesting how a white master had apprehension to humiliate Ball because of the reputation he held in the neighborhood!

The comparative nature of how Ball viewed his and his mother's masters indicates how different and unique experience of slavery was for every slave.

This specific word choice could imply the abolitionist essence of his recount with additional sarcasm perhaps.

It is interesting to see the experience of enslavement seen from Ball's eyes during the battle. Also gives good insight into the two fighting sides, the British and the Americans, because it is not too usual that recounts from people like Ball affect such narratives.

Shows how an enslaved person's experience could drastically change upon the death of a master.