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Slavery and the Making of AmericaPhoto of a group slaves on a Beaufort, South Carolina plantation
Time and Place Slave Memories Resources The Slave Experience

The Slave Experience: Responses to Enslavement
Intro Historical Overview Character Spotlight Slave Decisions Personal Narratives Original Docs
The Decisions Slaves Made
Consider the dilemmas, from the routine to the life-altering, that were a part of daily life for slaves.
Cynthia
Cynthia chose between working the field, and serving as her master's mistress. 		Illustration of slave woman Slave Ship Robert
Conditions on slave ships were notoriously abysmal. How did slaves respond? 		Illustration of Africans on deck of slave ship - Library of Congress Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson's mother was assaulted. What was his father's response? 		Illustration of white man grabbing a slave - Library of Congress
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John Mason
Escaped slaves struggled to help free others while avoiding recapture. 		Illustration of people in horse-drawn carriage William Grimes
Slaves often resented those among them chosen as favorites by their masters. 		Illustration of coffee cup Charles Ball
Charles Ball escaped only to be kidnapped and sent to work on a new plantation. 		Illustration of slave in chains - Library of Congress
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SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York.
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