Essays and Research Papers on Slavery & Civil Rights

This 6 page report discusses Julius Lester’s award-winning, 1968 book “To Be a Slave.” In it, Lester explains, through the voices of slaves, what it must have been like . . . “To be a slave. To be owned by another person, as a car, house, or a table is owned. To live as a piece of property that ...

(7 pp) Our posed question for this discussion is the comparison of a slave narrative with Brenda Stevenson's depiction of slavery in the book Life in Black and White: Family and Community in the Slave South. (1998) The temptation when reading history is to remember to talk about perceptions. What ...

A 5 page discussion of the literary approach of this author in his portrayal of one of the most reprehensible aspects of human society, racism. Emphasizes that Lee’s deeper societal message is made more palatable through his employment of two parallel plots, that of the children of a small community and that of their ...

A 5 page paper which presents a book report on Katia M. de Queiros Mattoso's "To Be A Slave In Brazil: 1550-1880." No additional sources cited.

5 pages in length. In a perfect world, all entities, every race and each person would be represented in the same fair light. However, this is not a perfect world, and people of various races and origins are not given the same fair treatment in virtually every aspect of social, economic, political and ...

A 5 page paper which analyzes Frederick Douglass' description of how slavery needs the slaves in order to work, thus creating a logical system. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper considers how the Bill of Rights, with its' amendments protects civil liberties. The writer uses cases, such as the cases of Timothy Thomas and Rodney King to discuss civil liberties violations. The bibliography cites 6 sources.

A 10 page overview of the concept of racist crime. Notes the events which are unfolding in our country today are essentially the same as those which have been targeted against one race or ethnicity or another throughout American history. The criminal activity which is all too often associated with such mindset has ...

5 pages. This essay expounds on the importance of having a diversified Naval Construction Force. The slightest racist remark may have an adverse effect on members of any type of ethnic group. In order to work cohesively as a team, racism must become a thing of the past and even racial remarks must be considered for the ...

The United States has never recovered from the dynamics of slavery. This 5 page paper provides an explication and review of the book, Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery by Charles Johnson and Patricia Smith. No additional sources are listed.

9 pages. This critical essay on the life of Frederick Douglass is based on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Several other works are included as well, such as his well known speech entitled What to the Slave is the Fourth of July. This paper gives excellent insight to Frederick Douglass the slave, as well ...

This 5 page paper explores the effects of slavery as they pertain to economic, political and social ramifications. Colonial rule in the region is touched on. Bibliography lists 4 sources

A five page paper which looks at various uses of rhetoric in Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, including the way in which Burke’s Pentad can be applied to the text and King’s use of logos, pathos and ethos in order to present and well-balanced and rational argument in favour of equal rights and ...

A five page paper which looks at the way in which the black American cultural perspective is presented in du Bois’ text, and the relevance which the work has not only for the black community but for America as a whole, in terms of the way in which black people have been an inherent part ...

This 5 page paper takes a look at race and racism in society. The paper argues that racial classification is not valid. Some biological information is discussed, but the argument is made primarily on the basis of social factors. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 12 page paper takes a careful look at slavery as it existed in the United States, Brazil and South Africa. The type of slavery is compared and contrasted. Britain's role is discussed along with the effects of the Napoleonic era. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page review of the fictional scenario of the events which impact the owners, crew, and cargo of an Eighteenth Century ship, “The Liverpool Merchant”. Unsworth uses the traditional sea story to provide an interesting view of the historical factors which made slavery an accepted part of white society. He takes tradition ...

A five page paper which looks at the acculturation process known as seasoning by which African captives were psychologically subjugated in order to ensure their cultural dislocation and their acceptance of the slave system, and the effect this had both on the African nations of the time and the later development of the Black American ...

A 10 page paper which examines the perspectives maintained by Frederick Douglass as they address the relationship with Mr. Covey. The perspectives are those seen in his first work, "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" written in 1845, and those which are seen in his later work of 1881 titled "Life and Times ...

This 8 page paper provides an overview in tutorial format to demonstrate how a student doing a set of interviews on one's self , and of a student of a different race, might be conducted. Questions are asked and answered in respect to how such interviews might go. Subjects are black and Hispanic. ...

A 5 page examination of Kenneth Milton Stampp's book "The Peculiar Institution : Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South." No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines the historical existence of slavery in New England. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 5 page paper compares two novels of slavery, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Flight to Canada, and explains how the latter proved to be a cynical parody of the former. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5-page paper examining patterns in the institution of slavery in civilizations from ancient to the 21st century. Includes conclusions about what 21st century Americans can learn from these patterns. References list 4 sources.

This 5 page report discusses David Brion Davis’ 1986 book “Slavery and Human Progress” in which the author looks at slavery in the much more broad context than the experience of Africans sold into slavery and working on plantations in the American South. He uses the ideals of contributing to overall human progress to demonstrate how slaveowners justified themselves and became ...