There are no records of how she was introduced to this community or who helped her, and Ona kept this information secret to protect everyone’s safety.
Honestly why even bother discussing the existence of this community, if she truly wanted to preserve this secret community she shouldn't have mentioned it at all.
Given Ona’s enslaved status, any white man could sexually assault her without punishment and she may have feared for her safety in a new household with a disreputable owner.9Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge (New York: 37INK, 2017), 95-97.
Not only did she fear their reputations but this acted as motivation to execute her runaway plan not only for her freedom but for the sake of her safety.
Ona said “she was determined never to be her slave,” referring to Eliza Custis.
Does this mean Ona wouldn't have planned to escape if she remained Martha's slave?
It would have made her a fugitive in the eyes of the law and she likely would never be able to see her family again.
Was this consequence such a big deal to her anyways? She has already been separated from her family and she is living a better life than them so I don't see the reason she would need to worry about family that much. She barely see's them now and if anything she could aid in her family's escape.
Ona’s status as Martha’s preferred lady’s maid meant that she received a fancier wardrobe than most enslaved people because she visited homes and buildings normally off-limits to enslaved people.
This status as the "favorite maid" just goes to show how terrible their lives actually were if she still ran away. She was slightly more privileged than the other slaves and her life was still being wasted away.
But New York City, and then Philadelphia, offered new opportunities.
Was slavery not allowed in the North during this time? And if not, discrimination still existed meaning she probably didn't have very many opportunities especially at sixteen years old.
Ona gave two interviews about her life and escape to freedom.
There were many runaway slaves but were they proud of the fact they escaped or did they live in fear of being brought back and punished for their escape? Ona had given a couple interviews which are said to be rare and so I would think it wasn't common for slaves to share their stories.
Soonafterthisdeal,theUnitedStatesabolishedtheinternationalslavetrade,creatingalaborshortage.
Did abolishing slavery ensure peoples freedom or were they still looked down on in society? And if these former slaves were not part of the slave trade anymore, was it easy for them to provide for themselves with the labor shortage?
Heopenlyspeculatedthatblackpeoplewereinferiortowhitepeopleandcontinuallyadvocatedfortheirremovalfromthecountry.
This was a common train of thought for Europeans back then and even our founding fathers owned slaves yet we look up to them and admire them. Why is it that we value these people even though they were terrible? was it because they secured the land we live on today? Or the fact the established the constitution?
6/3/2020A Brief History of Slavery That You Didn't Learn in School - The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonian.html13/41THE1619PROJECThttps://nyti.ms/2HeRABwContinualResistanceEnslavedAfricanshadknownfreedombeforetheyarrivedinAmerica,andtheyfoughttoregainitfromthemomenttheyweretakenfromtheirhomes,rebellingonplantationsitesandinurbancenters.
I know at times there were sometimes upwards to ten slaves per owner so my question is why didn't they rebel? they clearly outnumbered the white folk. My only thoughts would be either because they were too scared, or they just weren't educated enough to realize this.
“Ipitythemgreatly,butImustbemum,forhowcouldwedowithoutsugarorrum?”
These people seriously valued a simple commodity over someones life? Even if they were considered human, a life is a life and it's absolutely terrible to imagine this privilege actually occurred.
Theslavetradeprovidedpoliticalpower,socialstandingandwealthforthechurch,Europeannation-states,NewWorldcoloniesandindividuals.
Countries and people were so power hungry that they were willing to take others lives for their personal gain. Even today we still see this in our corrupt politicians who try to keep their prosecution rate high.
Suicideattemptsweresocommonthatmanycaptainsplacednettingaroundtheirshipstopreventlossofhumancargoandthereforeprofit
Conditions were so terrible that people were willing to take their own lives instead of endure the pain they were going through any longer. We can only imagine how brutal their lives must've been for them to actually prefer death.
Theycouldfilltheboat’ssmallspaces,allowingmorehumancapitalinthecargohold.Africanswerecrammedintoshipswithnoknowledgeofwheretheyweregoingoriftheywouldbereleased.
These statements just add to the struggle and pain African peoples were forced to endure. They weren't even treated like humans but instead disrespected and used for personal gain.
Eventually,however,sheconqueredanearbykingdomcalledMatamba.
It's amazing how we learn so much about how many kings and males were dominant and powerful when this woman was a true leader. I wish kids growing up learn about how women in history are just as powerful as men and how strong they had to be for sticking up and taking action when all odds are against them. I'm glad to have learned about her and she has all my respect.
With these efforts, a new form of slavery came into being.
When everyone realized how practical and economically efficient slaves were, this trade system and form of slavery became normalized and more profound than ever.
the Netherlands, France, Denmarkand England — seeking similar economic and geopolitical powerjoined in the trade
In this time period countries were obsessed with seeking power and being more wealthy than everyone else which is why they adopted these inhumane practices.
Inthe15thcentury, the Roman Catholic Church divided the world inhalf
It's important to note that slaves were first considered property in the 1400's and territory was assigned to different countries.
trans-Atlantic slave trade
This was the big initial start of the slave trade. Normalizing this commercial trade is what aided in the growth of systemic racism.
Thus the Lord dealt mercifully with me many times, and I fared better than many of them.
This line is important to note that Rowlandson acknowledges her commitment to the Bible and how in the end she realizes how "good" God has been to her even through she went through complete misery.
Now may I say with David, "I am in a great strait" (2 Samuel 24.14). If I keep in, I must die with hunger, and if I go out, I must be knocked in head.
She is being extremely cocky in the sense that she is willing to put her very life on the line all while keeping her faith and referring to the Bible as she's confronting the men threatening to kill her. I believe this is the ultimate testament of her faith in a situation like this.
As I was sitting once in the wigwam here, Philip's maid came in with the child in her arms, and asked me to give her a piece of my apron, to make a flap for it. I told her I would not. Then my mistress bade me give it, but still I said no.
At this point, Rowlandson has reached a point where her faith has taken over and she is testing her ability to be nonchalant despite the situation she's in. She has pretty much lost everything but she will still not tolerate the maid and lose her self-respect.
About this time I began to think that all my hopes of restoration would come to nothing.
Again referring to her faith, she lists all the possibilities that may be in her favor of ever returning home but each of those scenarios become unachievable which she see's this as an opportunity to test her faith in the Bible. Nothing goes her way yet she is still hopeful and this to her is what she considers a true testament of her faith.
she found me sitting and reading in my Bible; she snatched it hastily out of my hand, and threw it out of doors. I ran out and catched it up, and put it into my pocket, and never let her see it afterward.
In almost every remove she mentions a Bible verse which displays her strong faith and loyalty to the Bible despite the situation she's in. It's honorable of her to keep her faith all while enduring such a difficult situation with her child.
One hill was so steep that I was fain to creep up upon my knees, and to hold by the twigs and bushes to keep myself from falling backward
As if the mental trauma of being capture wasn't enough, this trip is also taking a physical toll on her body.
I went home and found venison roasting that night, but they would not give me one bit of it
This line could also represent how much power/say she has in this whole story. Mary is the one that has been captured meaning she has given up not only her freedom but also her right of speech.
“On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life.”
North America has always existed but the United States was founded in 1776 and for that reason we should celebrate our country's accomplishments and achievements on July 4th instead of Christopher Columbus day.
In March 1493, Columbus returned to Spain in triumph, bearing gold, spices and “Indian” captives. The explorer crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506.
Christopher Columbus day shouldn't be celebrated but rather act as a reminder that the land we live on was conquered through war, force, and murder.
For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage.
I believe it's wrong that schools have mislead several generations of students into believing Christopher Columbus has "accomplished" so much and has done "good" for our country. Granted the United States wouldn't have existed but we shouldn't be led to believe this land was "discovered but stolen.
Pairing “ colonial ” with “ America, ” though, has for so long implied a connec-tion to the United States that perhaps my students can be forgiven for their refl ex-ive association of “ colonial ” with the period of American history before the Revolution
Through grade school we are only taught the American version of history and we are ignorant to the fact that colonization occurs all over the world and different periods of time.