Humanities Homework Help

Part A:  Chapters 3-4 in Women in the National Experience

Pg. 36-Barilla Taylor, pg. 38-Harriet Hanson Robinson, pg. 41-Sarah Bagley, pg. 62-Caroline Healy Dall and pg. 64-Dr. William W. Sanger.

Parts B and C:  Chapters 5-6 in Women and the National Experience

The history of North American slavery is complicated.  North American slavery is a dynamic institution that dramatically changed from the colonial era to the Civil War.  Before European settlers colonized North America, a person of any skin color or religious persuasion could be a slave.  For example, millions of Irish people were enslaved by the British over a period of several hundred years.  The British brought many Irish slaves to the New World (including North America) in the earliest days of exploration and settlement and treated them worse than animals.  The “peculiar institution” eventually became a color based system but it did not start out that way.  White and black slaves often lived together in the same “slave quarters.”  This led to the blossoming of relationships between white and black slaves, which angered white land owning masters.  When these relationships contributed to open rebellion, like with Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia, the elites took action and passed laws which curbed the liberties of free black people as well as black slaves, creating a division between white and black slaves as well as free white and black people. Gradually, the planters stopped importing white slaves and increased their dependence on black slaves.  

The experience of female slaves further complicates the history of slavery.  Slave women did the same back-breaking work as men, worked the same long hours and endured the same barbaric and cruel punishments; however, they faced another danger unique to their gender, rape and other forms of sexual assault. 

Part B:  In your primary sources there are a few different accounts on slavery, escape, sexual assault and abolition.  For Part B of this discussion, please answer the questions outlined below for the following sources:

Pg. 80-Harriet Tubman, pg. 84-Harriet Jacobs and pg. 91-Mary Boykin Chesnut

Questions:

1. How are the experiences represented in all three sources different?  How are they similar?  Be SPECIFIC, no vague generalizations.  Use examples from each source, not just one or two.  Show me you read the sources by using them in your answer. Please also answer both parts of the question.
2. How does reading all three of these sources give us a more complete understanding of the early American slave system and specifically, the experience of female slaves?  Again, be specific, no vague references that could easily be taken from the introductions, text book or lectures. Vague answers will not suffice.  Use all three sources in your answer.

Part C:  The abolitionist movement is critical to understanding women’s history.  The abolitionist campaign helped launch the women’s rights movement and served as a training ground for female activists to learn how to organize a campaign, petition the government, write speeches and find their political voice.  To fight for the rights of slaves, one had to understand the constitution and how the institution of slavery violated a citizen’s rights.  For this next section of the discussion, students must answer questions for the following sources:

Pg. 100-Elizabeth Emery and Mary P. Abbott, pg. 105-Pastoral Letter to New Churches and pg. 106-Sarah Grimke.

Questions:

1. What arguments did Emery and Abbott use to support the position that women should be allowed to participate in the abolitionist cause?
2. On what basis do Emery and Abbot argue that slavery is a sin?
3. How do Emery and Abbott suggest that the United States is not honoring it’s legacy and core values as a nation?
4. According to the Pastoral Letter, when does a woman forfeit the protection offered by men?
5. How is the Pastoral Letter an example of cultural construction of gender?
6. On what basis does Grimke argue that men and women are equals?
7. How does Grimke suggest that the bible is a misrepresentation of god’s intentions?
8. On page 107, in the left column, evaluate the passage where Grimke says “Rule by obedience, and by submission sway” . . . “or in other words, study to be a hypocrite, pretend to submit, but gain your point.” What does Grimke mean by this statement?