Civil Engagement in US History
The slaves engaged in resistance against their masters. In essence, this can be termed as civic engagement. Civic engagement refers to people’s participation in a group to give a talk on public concern issues. Hence, people work towards accomplishing a change through safeguarding public norms and values. Interviews are used to collect the data to learn about civic engagement. The verifications are from the African Americans who were once enslaved by the whites. They talk about their different experiences during that time. The data was gathered in 1930 by the Works Progress Administration. The historical question that should be considered is slave resistance and the abolition of the slave trade. The act of slave resistance constituted acts of slave engagement.
There were different types of slave resistance. The first type was sexual abuse and sex trafficking. For instance, in the Fannie Berry conversation, the white master to Sukie tries to force her into having sex with him. The act makes the lady burn him almost to death in a hot pot of soap due to anger. The master later sells her to a slaver trader because his plan of seducing her did not work. Another type is forced labor resistance. African Americans were forced to work in plantations under very harsh conditions. For instance, the housing conditions, salary, and health situations were ignored. The oppression from the white masters made the slaves try to escape, and many of these people managed to flee. In essence, this was an overt resistance. On the other hand, some slaves engaged in covert resistance.
The slaves were deceived into working, recruited, transported, and their rights curtailed. The women faced exploitation before the white masters. For instance, one was overworked. Forced labor also applied to children because they were recruited as soldiers to fight for their white masters (Resistance, n.d.). Another type that existed is domestic servitude, where people were trafficked so that they could be sold to work in a private residence. Thus, the victims were vulnerable in various unique ways. Domestic workers were poorly paid and abused physically, emotionally, and sexually. The slaves were subjected to harsh conditions such as starvation and being denied water and proper housing.
Therefore, they lived in hardship. Some of these slaves died due to ailments, but at times those leading resistance were killed by their masters. The women could give birth, and the masters would sell away the young child. Similarly, those domestic workers who had adapted and found new friends were sold, which would separate them from their friends and family. The act would break their hearts, but they did not have an option. A slight resistance from the slaves was stopped through a thorough beating. The slave will be beaten by the white masters so that others would not rise to arms and voice their concerns. Thus, the white masters would make sure that the chances of slaves to gain freedom were suppressed. The masters also kidnapped young children and recruited them as soldiers (Resistance, n.d.). The white masters did this because the children were loyal to them due to a lack of knowledge. In essence, these children took orders from their white masters without question.
Underage girls were forced to marry the combatants and commanders because they would do as told by the masters. For example, the master would be easily forced to having sex, and she will not resist due to intimidation for the white masters. The women slaves would, at times, have an affair with a fellow slave, and they would, at times, get pregnant. However, slaves did not want this because their masters will still sell the children. In this regard, a child born into slavery was killed by the mother to prevent this from happening. This type of slavery is illustrated by Lou Smith interview, which shows how her babies were sold at the age of 2 (Resistance, n.d.). The white masters knew education would enlighten the African Americans. In this regard, many were denied a chance to access education. Hence, those who managed to acquire a small education level were made secretaries, clerks, and those taking records in the plantations. The pay was less, but they had better living conditions.
In summation, the acts of slave resistance constitute civic engagement. The civic resistance was a fight against a matter of public concern, and this was freedom for the slaves. The resistance also strived to ensure that African Americans would get better payments and be granted a right to education and health. The slaves wanted to improve their living conditions. The improvement would be realized if they would get freedom and own property. Economic freedom is significant for the wellbeing of the people because it promotes independence. Therefore, the resistance was aiming at, resulting in a positive change. For instance, women would be allowed to work and vote for their leaders. The slaves wanted to have representation so that they would pass legislation that affects them. Therefore, slave resistance is a form of civic engagement because it aimed at talking about matters of common concern.
References
Resistance. [PDF].