The autobiographies of former slaves contributed powerfully to the
abolitionist movement in the United States, fanning national--even
international--indignation against the evils of slavery. The four texts
gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most
memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth
century. The writings of Moses Roper (1838), Lunsford Lane (1842), Moses
Grandy (1843), and the Reverend Thomas H. Jones (1854) provide a moving
testament to the struggles of enslaved people to affirm their human
dignity and ultimately seize their liberty.
Introductions to each narrative provide biographical and historical
information as well as explanatory notes. Andrews's general introduction
to the collection reveals that these narratives not only helped energize
the abolitionist movement but also laid the groundwork for an African
American literary tradition that inspired such novelists as Toni
Morrison and Charles Johnson.
The autobiographies of former slaves contributed powerfully to the
abolitionist movement in the United States, fanning national--and
international--indignation against the evils of slavery. The four texts
gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most
memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth
century. The writings of Moses Roper (1838), Lunsford Lane (1842), Moses
Grandy (1843), and the Reverend Thomas H. Jones (1854) provide a moving
testament to the struggles of enslaved people to affirm their human
dignity and ultimately seize their liberty. Introductions to each
narrative provide biographical and historical information as well as
explanatory notes.