Letter of a Slave to President Abraham Lincoln

LETTER OF A SLAVE
Student's Name
Subject
08 12 2021
Mr. President, I like to start by acknowledging the tumultuous compounding events, the anti-slavery sentiment, and the Civil War currently facing this beautiful country, the United States of America. Admittedly, it is tough for anyone presently living in this country despite their skin color. Therefore, it is appropriate to congratulate you on your election success, which occurred on November 6, 1860, as the first Republican and the 16th president of the US. Mr. President, it must be specifically tricky for you, torn between the constant calls to abolish slavery and the need to end the already devasting Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861. A war kickstarted with the maiden firing on Fort Sumter by the Confederate troops. Sir, I should state that I do not envy your current position as president but can only empathize, as I already have enough on my plate as an African-American slave.
Mr. President, I want to state at this point that I support your presidency since you have been previously a staunch opponent of slavery. I still believe that you have not changed your stand, but your recent gestures have worried a slave like me. Your recent lack of full support to the abolitionists and your willingness to allow slavery to continue to end the Civil War is a big blow to the African-American community. Sir, I do not want to belittle the atrocities resulting from the war, but you might not be aware of the ills of slavery, and therefore I will gladly guide you through my life as a slave in the United States.
Sir, my life is not easy as an inhabitant of this country. For starters, I am facing the already devasting conflict like anyone else, and besides, I am an African-American slave. Yes, a slave in a "free" country. Even though you find yourself in a dicey situation trying to unify the Confederate South and the Union North, you may appreciate that my present situation is worse off to be alive in this country. I am persevering an inherited struggle that my community has been grappling with since the founding of this country in 1776. My life has been miserable for the better part of my 47 years as an African-American slave. As a slave, I am accustomed to forced labor with meager or zero wages. My typical day since my teenage years rotates around plantations. I spend most of my time laboring in the fields, six days a week from sunrise to dawn. While on the fields, we go hungry most times, but when served food, it is often horrible that even an animal would reject it. As a plantation slave, I live in a dirty shack with no furniture. Sometimes we are subjected to cruel overseers by the plantations owners to maximize productivity. The overseers often use cruel methods to get the most out of us, not caring about our health conditions. I am lucky to be alive today since some of my colleagues have passed on due to the hardships. Additionally, I have been subjected to "slave codes" reforms meant to better our lives but achieved the opposite. For instance, I am considered incompetent in legal cases involving whites, and I am equally prohibited from attaining education.
To make it worse, the arrival of cotton and Eli Whitney's cotton gin has worsened the slavery situation. As on...