Fifty years of slavery in the United States of America
By: by Harry Smith
Contributors: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: Academic Affairs Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: African Americans; Biography; Slaves; Slavery; Plantation life; Social life and customs; Slaves' writings, American
Other titles: North American slave narratives.
Description: Harry Smith was born in Kentucky in 1815 according to the brief biographical sketch that introduces this work. He remained in slavery until freed by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.  Smith then moved to Indiana and later Michigan, where he finally settled with his wife.  In 1891, Smith compiled his recollections. This narrative relates not only his personal experiences, but also includes many anecdotes about other Kentucky slaves and masters. Many of his stories are humorous and pleasant, relating to sporting adventures and leisure activities. Others, however, relate instances of neglect, violence, and the mistreatment of slaves by their masters and other white authorities.  Although Smith's narrative focuses primarily on slave family life on large plantations, it also highlights the interactions between whites and blacks, and the dynamics of those relationships. It concludes with a brief biographical sketch of his wife, Mrs. Harry Smith.
Notes: Title from electronic title page (viewed August 6th, 2003)

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library provided the text for the electronic publication of this title.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digitization project's database, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection North American slave narratives.

Text scanned (OCR) by Apex Data Services, Inc. Images scanned by Joby Topper and Natalia Smith. Text encoded by Lee Ann Morawski and Natalia Smith.

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Transcribed from: Fifty years of slavery in the United States of America / by Harry Smith of Osceola County, Michigan. Grand Rapids, Mich. : West Michigan Printing Co., 1891. 183 p. ; 21 cm.

Funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation supported the electronic publication of this title.

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