Harriet Jacobs' Unusual Life Showing Slavery of the Black People in the US

HARRIET JACOBS
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Harriet Jacobs
The rise in the Cotton kingdom can be described as a major source of black slavery in the United States, as indicated in Harriet Jacobs' experience. Without slavery, it would be difficult to embrace the Cotton kingdom and massive production of raw materials. Therefore, slavery was adequately connected to cotton production. Cotton regime determined the economic stability of the South while it led to extreme slave and exploitation of the blacks. Despite slavery in the United States, its intensity was majorly observed during the cotton production period. Slavery began in 1619 after Dutch traders arrived with 20 Africans in the United States. Slavery occurred at all angles in the American land, with approximately 654,124 being enslaved by 1790 and 1.1 million in 1810. During slavery, the major victims were the blacks. Harriet Jacobs is one of the blacks who adequately indicate the specific experiences the black people faced due to slavery in the United States. The paper addresses Harriet Jacob's unusual life and experiences showing the slavery of the black people in the United States.[The cotton revolution. (2013, June 7). The American yawp. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from /text/11-the-cotton-revolution/]
Ways Harriet Jacobs' Life revealed Enslaved Black People in the US and her unusual Life
Harriet Jacobs' life resembles the typical experiences that black people experienced in the United States. Before understanding the major experiences she faced, it is necessary to understand who Harriet Jacobs is. She was an American-African woman who lived between 1813 and 1897 in Edenton. She was born in slavery, and most of the incidents that occurred to her were similar to other slaves. The major experience that she has is sexual abuse and exploitation. The major experience that the black people had was consistent exploitation based on gender. They were sexually abused and coerced to participate in the cotton plantation based on their genders. Unwanted pregnancies and sexual violence were common among the blacks as they worked in the fields as quoted 'sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and constant childrearing while continuing to work the fields all made life as an enslaved woman more prone to disruption and uncertainty. Harriet Jacobs, an enslaved woman from North Carolina, chronicled her enslaver's attempts to sexually abuse her'. Harriet termed such activities as lack of freedom of the blacks to make relationship decisions and against humanity. The black slaves, especially women, had to choose due to consistent cases of rape within and outside the plantations. Sexual violence was purposely used as a form of terrorism to achieve effective power dominance and increased production.[The cotton revolution. (2013, June 7). 2] [Ibid:3]
Additionally, as Harriet portrays, black slavery was defined by gender and sexuality. The planters considered women the most valuable since they were used as slaves and considered sexual puppets. Annoyingly, after being exploited, the planters defended themselves that they could not engage in such activities since their bodies were not compatible as quoted 'State law, in some cases, supported this view, claiming that rape could only...