http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@filreq(@field(NUMBER%2B@band(fsa%2B8b37596))%2B@field(COLLID%2Bfsa))

1. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@filreq(@field(NUMBER%2B@band(fsa%2B8b37596))%2B@field(COLLID%2Bfsa))http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/fsaall:@filreq(@field(NUMBER%2B@band(fsa%2B8b37596))%2B@field(COLLID%2Bfsa)) What if you could actually talk to a person who had been a slave? What kind of questions would you ask?

2. Slavery A View From The Bottom Rail The FWP Slave Narratives Nancy TaylorThe History of the Nation Liberty Fellowship Kern County CaliforniaAmerican Institute for History Education

4. California Standards • PERFORMANCE STANDARD / STRAND • 8.7.2. • Trace the origins and development of slavery; its effects on black Americans and on the region's political, social, religious, economic, and cultural development; and identify the strategies that were tried to both overturn and preserve it (e.g., through the writings and historical documents on Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey). • EXPECTATION / SUBSTRAND • 6-8.5. • Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, author's perspectives). • EXPECTATION / SUBSTRAND • 6-8.5. • Students recognize that interpretations of history are subject to change as new information is uncovered. • EXPECTATION / SUBSTRAND • 9-12.3. • Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.

5. “Dey didn’t larn us nothin’ and iffen you did larn to write, you better keep it to youself,’ cause some slaves got de thumb or finger cut off for larnin, to write.”Sarah Benjamin, Corsicanna, Texas Narratives written by slaves during the time of their enslavement are extremely rare. Historians must rely almost entirely on reminiscent accounts to learn about slavery from those who experienced it. America’s History through Young Voices by Richard M. Wyman, Jr.,Pearson Education, Inc. 2005

6. The Slave Narratives In the 1930’s during the Great Depression the Federal Government put unemployed writers back to work. The Federal Writers Project sent its members out hoping to record the experiences and opinions of everyday people. Folklorist John Lomax organized staffs in many states to interview former slaves.

7. Thousands of former slaves in 17 states were interviewed between 1936 and 1938 resulting in and extraordinary set of 2,300 autobiographical documents now housed at the Library of Congress in the Slave Narrative Collection. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.htmlBorn in Slavery Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project 1936-1938

8. http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.01005/ Number of enslaved people in the southern states in 1860 3,953,760 Number of ex-slaves still alive in the 1930s 100,000 Number of ex-slaves interviewed in the 1930s by the Federal Writers Project 2300

9. When looking at the slave narratives collected in the 1930’s - what might be some of the problems, reliability issues, a historian confronts when trying to analyze them? Together with a partner brainstorm some of problems you believe one might have to consider.

10. Historians, James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, shared the following considerations in After the Fact the Art of Historical Detection, McGraw Hill, Boston, 2005. (pages 186-190) The sheer bulk of interviews – 2, 300 collected. (Still a small sampling of the original four million freed people.) The age of the participants - How sharp were their memories? - the interviews took place between 1936 and 1938 – 2/3 of those interviewed were more than 80 years old - 43% were less than 10 years old in 1865 -77% were under 20 years old in 1865 Many would remember slavery through a child’s experiences which might be less harsh or because children are so impressionable memories may be magnified both good and bad. (Age may have biased the type of recollections as well as their accuracy)

11. Context of Times: • 1930s black people were still considered inferior by many the everyday etiquette of the south brings this home – white southerners addressed black people by their first names or as “boy,” “auntie,” “uncle” while blacks were expected to address white people as “ma’am,” or “mister.” • many were share croppers and poor farmers in debt to white property owners • between 1931 and 1935 seventy African Americans were lynched in the south Many interviewers had to reassure informants that the information they shared would not be used against them.

12. The Interviewer Was the interviewer black or white? Was the interviewer from the same community as the former slave? “One older woman summed up the situation quite cheerfully. “Oh, I know your father en your granfather en all of dem. Bless Mercy, child, I don’t want to tell you nothin’ but what to please you.” What was the interviewer’s style of questioning? Simply by choosing his or her questions, the interviewer can begin to define the kinds of information a subject will volunteer. • Asking leading questions • Unconscious clues

13. Method of Collection The director of the Federal Writers’ Project instructed interviewers - “details of the interview should be reported as accurately as possible in the language of the original statements.” The mostly white interviewers made and effort to capture the speech patterns . ( Some tape-recorded the interviews – but it was a very small number that were taped.) • Interviewers took notes and later reconstructed and transcribed • sometimes editing to improve the flow • Possibly editing out what they felt objectionable or irrelevant • Some edited to correct English but most tried to provide a flavor of black dialect with varying degrees of success. • Still, some transcripts contain racist notions and clear exaggerations.

14. Are the Federal Writers Project Narratives valuable? Worth the time to analyze? What can we learn?

15. … if one wishes to understand the nature of the "peculiar institution" from the perspective of the slave, to reconstruct the cultural and social milieu of the slave community, or to analyze the social dynamics of the slave system, then these data are not only relevant; they are essential. That is not to imply that they should be used exclusively or without caution. Yet the hazards of attempting to comprehend slavery without using them far outweigh the limitations of their use. • http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snintro16.html

16. The FWP’s Slave Narratives will remain a constant and lasting reminder of the American Slave Experience! http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html

17. Sampling of the list of questions interviewers were encouraged to ask • Where and when were you born? • Give the names of your father and mother. Where did they come from? Tell about your life with them. • What work did you do in slavery days? Did you earn any money? • What did you eat and how was it cooked? Any possums? Rabbits? Fish? • Tell about your master, mistress, and their children. • Did slaves run away? • How did slaves carry news from one plantation to another? • Did you ever see any slaves sold or auctioned off? • How and for what causes were the slaves punished? Tell what you saw. • What do you remember about the war that brought you your freedom? • When the Yankees came what did they do or say? • What did the slaves do after the war? What did they receive generally? http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-antebellum/4739 The Underground Rail Road by Levi Coffin 1891

18. FWP Slave Narrative Analysis Worksheet • Relationship between owner and slave: (i.e. whether the owner knew the slave by name, used harsh punishments or incentives, was rational or impulsive in treatment of slaves) Describe. • What work did the former slave do during slavery days? • Did the slaves run away? List new or interesting things you learned about run-away slaves. • What was the relative autonomy of slave life described? (hint: look for descriptions of time away from the overseer or owner, the extent to which the slaves were permitted to hold meetings, religious or social gatherings or grow their own garden, owner recognition of slave marriage/family, whether allowed to socialize with other slaves from other farms or free blacks) • Do you believe the narrative is a reliable source for this information? Why or why not? (consider if any of the following seem to influence the reliability of this narrative - age of participant, context of times, the interviewer, method of collection also look for inconsistencies, exaggerations or omissions)

19. Arnold Gragston Florida Narratives, Volume III • Rankin House • Ripley, Ohio • http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mesn&fileName=030/mesn030.db&recNum=148&itemLink=D • ?mesnbib:1:./temp/~ammem_r7Og • http://library.byways.org/assets/73782 • http://backyardhistory.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

20. http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/2010/05/ourstory-underground-railroad-1780-1862.html Ask the students to imagine they faced the decision that every slave did: Would you attempt to escape from bondage? Why or why not? Students respond in a first person essay to be written in their journals.Time Classroom Teacher’s Guide - Sharing History - Readings from the Slave Narratives

21. Bibliography James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle, After the Fact The Art of Historical Detection, McGraw Hill, New York, 2005 edition. Richard M. Wyman, Jr., America’s History Through Young Voices, Pearson Education, Boston, 2005. In Time Unchained Memories Readings from the Slave Narratives, 2003. www.timeclassroom.com/unchained Born in Slavery Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project, 1936-1938, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html

22. Found Poetry • Poetry is made up of words that create pictures in one’s mind. Poems do not need rhyme or a number of mandated beats per measure. Poems do not need sentence structure or punctuation. • Colorful words that create the story in the reader or listener’s mind are poems.

23. Compose a poem by selecting certain expressive words or phrases from the text and eliminating all other words. (This can be done by using a highlighter to highlight words or if a computer is available by copying and pasting words.) After selecting words and phrases combine, arrange and rearrange them. Remember the words must create a story, a picture, in the reader/listener’s mind. (Students must read for understanding in order to compose a poem expressing the essence of a document. Students who feel they are not creative enough to write a poem with their own words can be very creative with other people’s words.) • adapted from “Creating ‘Found’ Poetry using the Slave Narratives” by “Master Classroom Teacher,” Laura Wakefield.

24. Sarah Gudger, Age 121Asheville, North Carolina I 'membahs de time when mahmammy wah alive, I wah a small chile, afoahdey tuck huh t' Rims Crick. All us chillenswahplayin' in de ya'd one night. Jes' arunnin' an' aplayin' lakchillun will. All a sudden mammy cum to de do' all a'sited. "Cum in heahdisminnit," she say. "Jeslook up at what is ahappenin'," and bless yo' life, honey, dasta'swahfallin' jes' lak rain.* Mammywahtebbleskeered, but we chillenwa'nt afeard, no, we wa'nt afeard. But mammy she say evah time a sta' fall, somebuddygonna die. Look laklotta folks gonna die f'om de looks ob demsta's. Ebbathin' wahjes' as bright as day. Yo' cudda pick a pin up. Yo' know de sta's don' shine as bright as dey did back den. I wondahwydey don'. Deyjes' don' shine as bright. Wa'nt long afoahdeytook mah mammy away, and I wahlef' alone. *(One of the most spectacular meteoric showers on record, visible all over North America, occurred in 1833.) • http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snvoices03.html

25. “One Night DaSta’s A Fallin”Found Poetry from the words of Sarah Gruder Ashville, North Carolina FWP Slave Narrativeby Nancy Taylor 2011 • One night • Playin in de ya,d • Jes’ runnin an aplayin • Mammy cum • All a,sited • Ebbathin' bright as day • Dasta’s a fallin’ jes’ lak rain • Mammy tebbleskeered • Chillenwan’nt afeard • No wa’nt afeard • Mammy say • Evah time a sta’ fall, somebuddygonna die • Lotta folks gonna die • Wan’t long • Took mammy away • lef' alone • Sta’s don shine as bright • Wondawy

26. Sarah Frances Shaw GravesAge 87Skidmore, Nodaway County, Missouri • "I was born March 23, 1850 in Kentucky, somewhere near Louisville. I am goin' on 88 years right now. (1937). I was brought to Missouri when I was six months old, along with my mama, who was a slave owned by a man named Shaw, who had allotted her to a man named Jimmie Graves, who came to Missouri to live with his daughter Emily Graves Crowdes. I always lived with Emily Crowdes." • The matter of allotment was confusing to the interviewer and Aunt Sally endeavored to explain. • "Yes'm. Allotted? Yes'm. I'm goin' to explain that, " she replied. "You see there was slave traders in those days, jes' like you got horse and mule an' auto traders now. They bought and sold slaves and hired 'em out. Yes'm, rented 'em out. Allotted means somethin' like hired out. But the slave never got no wages. That all went to the master. The man they was allotted to paid the master." • "I was never sold. My mama was sold only once, but she was hired out many times. Yes'm when a slave was allotted, somebody made a down payment and gave a mortgage for the rest. A chattel mortgage. . . ." • "Allotments made a lot of grief for the slaves," Aunt Sally asserted. "We left my papa in Kentucky, 'cause he was allotted to another man. My papa never knew where my mama went, an' my mama never knew where papa went." Aunt Sally paused a moment, then went on bitterly. "They never wanted mama to know, 'cause they knowed she would never marry so long she knew where he was. Our master wanted her to marry again and raise more children to be slaves. They never wanted mama to know where papa was, an' she never did," sighed Aunt Sally. • http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snvoices03.html

27. Tempie Cummins • "The white chillun tries teach me to read and write but I didn' larn much, 'cause I allusworkin'. Mother was workin' in the house, and she cooked too. She say she used to hide in the chimney corner and listen to what the white folks say. When freedom was 'clared, marsterwouldn' tell 'em, but mother she hear him tellin' mistus that the slaves was free but they didn' know it and he's not gwineter tell 'em till he makes another crop or two. When mother hear that she say she slip out the chimney corner and crack her heels together four times and shouts, 'I's free, I's free.' Then she runs to the field, 'gainstmarster's will and tol' all the other slaves and they quit work. Then she run away and in the night she slip into a big ravine near the house and have them bring me to her. Marster, he come out with his gun and shot at mother but she run down the ravine and gits away with me. • http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snvoices06.html