Mr.+Hilmer's+Final+Project 


 * POV #1: A Slave's Point of View

April 15, 1856

It has been one week since I've been captured. Things haven't been the same. I miss my family dearly, and I still don't understand why I am here, or what is going on. I don't understand the people who came for us. I dont understand the things they do, how they speak, what they talk about, what they are planning - anything ! It was horrible when they came for us, and I didn't even see it coming. It was late Sunday night. My whole family and I were sound asleep in the front room. I had awaken - I thought I had heard footsteps of some sort, but I drifted back to sleep right away. A little later I heard it again, except this time there were more footsteps. I got up to see what it was. I went to the kitchen, and I was suddenly grabbed by something, and I couldn't break it's hold. I heard screaming come from the room we had all been sleeping in. It was my family, being taken. Suddenly, the thing behind me tied my hands in rope, and started pulling me through the house, to the front door. There was my family, right before my eyes. They were tied up as well, and in pain. Behind them there were two wagons. I suddenly became scared, and tried breaking free from this thing that was holding me. I heard it say something, but I didn't understand. I gave up - It was useless anyway. My mother and I were put into one wagon, and my younger brother and father in the other. Once we were in, our hands were untied and a door behind us was shut and locked. There was little light, and there were about 25 other woman in the wagon with us. I was terrified. I didn't know what was going to happen or where I was going to end up. My mother was hysterical. We had no clue what was going to happen to us, or my father and brother. What was gonna happen? Were we going to live? Were we going to die? Luckily, right now I'm still alive.

April 18, 1856

It's really hard to write, with how cramped it is, and all of the moving around there has been. On the 16th, we went from the wagon's, to spaceships. We were in the wagon, and suddenly it came to a stop. One by one we were all loaded out from the wagon onto the spaceship. There were strange alien guards, everywhere. If we were to do something wrong or try to rebel out of there, something bad was bound to happen. On the spaceship, there were hundreds and hundreds more people. No one had any clue what was going on. By this point I was starving, we hardly had any food or water for the past almost two weeks ! It's insane. Finally today when the spaceship came to a stop, we were told the whole story. These alien's had chose us to be their workers for their new planet. This scared me. I don't want to work like this the rest of my life. First I'm separated from my family, now I'm going to be living somewhere where I don't even understand anything, and now I have to work as one of their slaves. & There is nothing I can do about it. I want to cry, I want to scream. I don't know what to do. After we were told what was going on, we were all led off of the ship and then into big "houses" - which were actually big empty rooms with stacks of mats and blankets, where we were going to be sleeping. We were told everything we were going to be doing. We were going to be forced to work, starting tomorrow, from the crack of dawn until midnight. Every single day. We have to work out in the garden's, cook and clean for these THINGS, and anything else they ask of us. This is what I have been doing for the past two days. All yesterday and all today. The men have to do all of the heavy and hard work, so I can't even imagine what it is going to be like for them. It is really hard. If we refuse to do anything, we get whipped. If we constantly refuse, it goes from whipping, to being killed. I would never do that, so I don't think I have to worry. I don't really see my family much anymore, except my mother, and it makes me wanna scream. Sleeping is horrible, and we barely get fed. It's so cramped at night, you can barely move. We only get fed some rice, or whatever the owners don't want. yeah, I guess they own us now too. I don't understand any of this. The things they make us do, the culture, the language, anything ! I guess it's going to take some getting used to. I mean, I guess I'm starting to understand some of it, but it's still going to take awhile.

May 1, 1856

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I've had so much to do, and I've been so busy. I also don't want to get caught with this, because it's the last thing I have that's close. The last place I can keep my thoughts. I've had so much work to do. I have to clean, cook, work outside in the garden, cut grass, pull weeds, wash dishes, scrub floors.. it's crazy. I guess I'm pretty used to it now. There's really nothing I can do at this point, and I really couldn't do anything from the start anyway. At least I got to see my brother and father a little bit yesterday. They are doing just as good as me. We are allowed visitation with our family members once every month for only a few hours, and that's it. As long as I know how they're doing, I think I'll be okay. I haven't been sleeping very good lately though. The mats we sleep on aren't the softest, the pillows we are given are very flat, and I've been stressed and worked to death - and I can't NOT work, because I really don't want to face death. That's a scary thought. This isn't right. None of this. This is wrong, in so many ways. Why should I be forced to work, and get nothing in return? How can they just take us, sweep us off our feet and bring us here to do this? It's not fair. It's not my life. It's not what I want.

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 * POV #3: An Abolitionist's Point Of View. (Extra Credit)**

Mr. John Brown,

As you know, I am against slavery as you are, and I would love to help. I also believe though, that using physical force to stop the slavery may not be the best answer. I believe there are other ways around physical force, and we can go about this in a more appropriate manner. I do not believe physical force is very convincing, and if it is not convincing to others, then slavery will not be stopped as we wish for it to be. There are many other ways that we can convince people, and fight for freedom of slavery. I believe we can use wise judgment, and we can write to speak out against slavery, attempt to negotiate with slave owners, and give speeches against slavery. Writing to speak out against slavery can be very powerful. By speaking out against slavery, you are exercising freedom of speech, and you are clearly standing up for what you believe in. Writing is more powerful and convincing then physical force. When you write, you are free to say whatever you want, and other people can read, and it can be passed along. Even we could start a newspaper and publish it, for other people to see, and possibly we could then convince more people. Maybe we could even catch the eye of the president, and he could then do something about it. If we could somehow get through to President Lincoln, then we would be able to do something about it. I believe he would also be impressed with the way we go about this if we chose this as one of our options. Attempting to negotiate with some of the slave owners could cut some of the slavery, and possibly free some of the suffering slaves. Physical force will only make matters worse, because then we will have army's coming after us, and possibly starting a battle. I do not believe that violence is the answer, and it does not solve anything. Negotiating with some of the slave owners could benefit us greatly. The slaves would then see what we are doing and then they would possibly try to help us out along with the other people who would be helping us out and against slavery as well. Giving speeches to Citizens around the country would be a very powerful thing. I believe it would impact/change the way some people think, and they would also try to help us. The more people we can convince, the better chance we will have at ending/putting an end to slavery. With me escaping from slavery, I have the experience of being there, and I can share it among many others. I believe that would be a very convincing way to get people to believe that slavery is wrong, and that we need to put an end to it now. All people are treated equal, so why is there slavery in the first place? We could travel from town to town, and give speeches about my personal experience(s) and the slavery that is going on right now. & The more speeches we give, the bigger crowds we will have, and the more people that attend the speeches, the more people we can attempt to convince to be against slavery as well. Mr. Brown, I hope you consider these options. I believe they are the best way to go about fighting against slavery. We will not only be standing up for our right, but also for what we believe in, in a kind and peaceful manner. I don't believe causing chaos and havoc is the answer at all. I believe it will only cause future problems that we will have to deal with down the road, and I believe that these are the best ways to go about fighting for not only the slaves rights, but their freedom as well. Please consider these options, and I thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely, Fredrick Douglass