Analysis Of Eric Foner, Olaudah Equiano In Voices Of Freedom

Eric Foner, Olaudah Equiano on Slavery (1789), In Voices of Freedom, Vol 1, Page 65. In this excerpt you are introduced to a young African boy, Olaudau Equiano, who begins to describe his everyday life before being captured. Olaudau, who is the youngest of six sons but not the youngest child, who in which is his sister. As a child, he was raised and trained in both agriculture and war, receiving a great deal of emblems in javelin throwing and shooting. However, at the age of eleven, Olaudau’s life changed forever. One day while the elders went to the fields, two men and a women invaded their camp and swiftly kidnapped Olaudau and his younger sister; thus beginning his life as a slave. â€Å"The first object which saluted my eyes when I†¦show more content†¦Wheatley wrote, â€Å"how well the cry for liberty, and the reverse disposition for the exercise of oppressive power over other agree†, bringing attention to the fact that the colonists were contradicting th emselves by demanding their freedom from Britain but denying slaves their freedom at the same time. Eric Foner, Thomas Jefferson on Race and Slavery (1781), In Voices of Freedom, Vol 1, Page 134 Throughout Jefferson’s notes, Jefferson goes on to explain that he understands that the very concept of slavery goes against his philosophy in which he instilled into the Declaration of Independence. As one of the father of our nation, we the people should expect our leaders to uphold certain standards when it comes to human rights of their vary nation. To quote our fathering document, the Declaration of Independence, â€Å"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This however, brings up the point on whether or not Jefferson viewed the African slaves as â€Å"all men.† In the excerpt from his notes, Jefferson discusses that he believes that slavery should not exist but he also believed that once a slave is free, he or she can no longer live in the same society as one who which they have slaved for. Eric Foner, Frederick Douglass on the Desire for Freedom (1845), In Voices of Freedom, Vol 1,