Working with documents - Contextualizing historical information about life for slaves (Activity II)

[John Lee]

This is the second of three activities that use the SCIM-C method to explore resources on the Plantation Letters website

Activity II

In this activity, you will contextualize a narrative from Doc Edwards a former slave and “domestic servant” on a North Carolina plantation belonging to Paul Cameron as well as secondary sources on the general topic of domestic servants. We are reading these materials to learn something about the African American slaves who lived and worked on the plantations.

First, read Doc Edwards’ narrative located at the original typed version from 1937 / a transcription (easier to read). Summarize the document and after you have completed this task, read the following exempted passages from John Blassingame’s book The Slave Community and Jean Anderson’s book Piedmont Plantation. In these passages, Blassingame and Anderson make claims about what life was like for domestic servants on slave-based plantations (including the Cameron plantation) in the American antebellum south. Reconcile these various primary and secondary accounts of the life for domestic servants and post your thoughts about the context of the Edwards narrative in your reply. Use the questions at the bottom of this post to scaffold your work.

“…the domestic slave formed part of the plantation elite. They usually ate better food wove, ,and wore better clothes than the field slaves because they received leftovers from the planter’s larder and hand-me-downs from his wardrobe. In spite of this, their position was not sinecure. They ran errands, worked as part-time gardeners, cooked, served meals, cared for the horses, milked the cows, sewed simple clothes, cared for the master’s infant, carded and spun wool, did the marketing, churned the milk, dusted the house, swept the yard, arranged the dining room, cut the shrubbery, and performed numerous other tasks” (Blassingame, 1972, p. 250-251).

“At the beck and call of his master day and night, the domestic servant had no regular hours. Added to the long hours was the discomfiture of constantly being under the watchful eyes of the whites and being subject to their every capricious, vengeful, or sadistic whim” (Blassingame, 1972, p. 251).

Quoting from Suffering, a published narrative written by an ex-slave named Lewis Clarke in 1845, Blassingame presented a view of the domestic servant that contrasted with the stereotype of the domestic slave as being privileged. In Clarke’s narrative he wrote,

“We were constantly exposed to the whims and passions of every member of the family; from the least to the greatest their anger was wreaked upon us. Nor was our life an easy one, in the hours of toil or in the amount of labor performed. We were always required to sit up until all the family had retired; then we must be up at early dawn in summer, and before day in winter” (Clarke, 1845 p. 17).

“The house servant would have been close to the white family and under their supervision most of the time. Treated almost as members of the family, they probably were dealt a share of verbal chastisement and criticism because of their proximity, but there is no evidence of their having been mistreated. They would have also received better food and clothing than field hands; left-overs from the whites’ table and castoffs from their wardrobes. Family letters frequently contained affectionate comments about them and their faithful performance of their duties” (Anderson, 1993, p. 96).

“The whites in general considered the house servants superior to the vast rank and file of the black force and probably chose them for their intelligence and dependability. The Cameron papers confirm this impression though nowhere is it actually stated. Children of the house servants became in turn house servants, perpetuating and accentuating through the years the qualities their masters desired in them” (Anderson, 1993, p. 96).

References

Anderson, J. (1993). Piedmont Plantation: The Bennehan-Cameron family and lands in North Carolina.

Blassingame, J. (1972). The slave community. New York: Oxford University Press.

Clarke, L. (1999/1845). Narrative of the sufferings of Lewis Clarke, during a captivity of more than twenty-five years, among the Algerians of Kentucky, one of the so called Christian states of America. Dictated by himself. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC. Retrieved September 1, 2008 from http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/clarke/clarke.html


{from David Hicks and Peter Doolittle - http://www.historicalinquiry.com/scim/index.cfm}


Summarizing
Summarizing is the first phase of the SCIM-C strategy and begins with having students quickly examine the documentary aspects of the text, in order to find any information or evidence that is explicitly available from the source. Within this phase students should attempt to identify the source's subject, author, purpose, and audience, as well as the type of historical source (e.g., letter, photograph, cartoon). In addition, the student should look for key facts, dates, ideas, opinions, and perspectives that appear to be immediately apparent within the source. The four analyzing questions associated with the summarizing phase include:
1. What type of historical document is the source?
2. What specific information, details and/or perspectives does the source provide?
3. What is the subject and/or purpose of the source?
4. Who was the author and/or audience of the source?

Contextualizing
Contextualizing begins the process of having students spend more time with the source in order to explore the authentic aspects of the source in terms of locating the source within time and space. The teacher needs to emphasize that it is important to recognize and understand that archaic words and/or images from the period may be in a source. These words and/or images may no longer be used today or they may be used differently, and these differences should be noted and defined. In addition, the meanings, values, habits, and/or customs of the period may be very different from those today. Ultimately, students and teachers must be careful to avoid treating the source as a product of today as they pursue their guiding historical question. The four analyzing questions associated with the contextualizing phase include:
1. When and where was the source produced?
2. Why was the source produced?
3. What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
4. What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?

[Julie Treadwell]

Summarizing:
This document, in the form of an interview, gave a slave perspective of what plantation life was life. Doc Edwards, the speaker and slave of Paul Cameron, explained how the slaves got by on the plantation. He and the other slaves made all of the tools they needed on site. They put the wheat into a machine and it came out in long sheets that the oxen would transport. Doc Edwards said there was a shop on the plantation where slaves shoes were made and in the fall he worked at the loom that made cloth for the slaves clothes. They worked hard and Paul Cameron, or as the slaves called him Marse Paul, didn’t even know their names. Despite that, even after he was freed, Doc Edwards stayed on the Cameron land. This interview with Doc Edwards was recorded by Daisy Wheley.

Contextualizing:
1. The secondary sources were produced in 1972 (Blassingame) and 1993 (Anderson). The primary source is from August 6, 1937 in Staggville, N.C.
2. The primary source was recorded to recount first hand what life was like for Doc Edwards, a domestic slave. It was recorded when he was 84 years old. By 1937 there were not as many people that could tell first hand what it was like to be a slave and the interviewee knew this information was historic.
3. What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
The source was produced in 1937, the end of the great depression. Also, at this point Doc Edwards had been free for quite some time. His interview may have made his life seem harsher if it had been taken while he was still a slave. At the time of his interview he still lives on the Cameron plantation; actually he is very content with living on the Cameron plantation.
4. What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?
Doc Edwards notes when he was born (1853) and where (Staggville, N.C.). This information makes the audience place the information, in our case, in our own state. Everything Doc Edwards explains in his interview happened in the state that I live in today. The means of making clothes and tools as well as the machinery (or lack there of) used by the slaves to complete there jobs, also reminds the audience of the time period.

[Julie Cox]

1. This is a piece written by Doc Edwards. He was born in Staggville, North Carolina, and strongly identifies himself as a slave. He was born into slavery under the rule of "Marse Paul" and spent most of his time growing up as a cook in his master's household. He would sometimes work in the fields doing hard labor because he got sick while working inside the house. He was one of many slaves owned by Master Paul--he explains that because he had so many, sometimes he would have to ask them who they belonged to if he ran into them on the street. He describes the many different "workshops" on the plantation where slaves were put to work to make tools and shoes. At the end he says that when the Northerners came to the South, they explained to the slaves that they were free. Although Doc Edwards was freed, he will always feel like he belongs to his master. He said that he would remain on the plantation, working on his garden until he dies. He said that when he the Lord calls him home, he will be reunited with his master.

[Julie Cox]

2. The other sources are from 1972 and 1993. These sources were produced to explain the lives of domestic slaves as opposed to the slaves who were expected to work in the fields. In 1972, Blassingame wrote that although domestic slaves had better food and clothing, more was expected of them in terms of the hours they worked and all the jobs that were assigned to them. Anderson opposes this belief in 1993 by claiming that these slaves received more care from their owners and were thought of as part of the family.

At the time of the Edwards narrative, he was a free man. He explained that he still lived on the plantation and worked on his garden. At this time in history, slaves were free but were still experiencing the harsh reality that not everyone in America was totally free or equal.
I think Doc Edwards proves--to a certain extent--that the domestic slave tended to feel some loyalty to his master, and this could be because the domestic slave was treated differently. Although all slaves were treated unjustly, domestic slaves may have felt more like part of the family than the field slaves did. Doc Edwards' narrative gives us a look into the life of a freed domestic slave during the time when racial equality was not found in many places throughout our country.

[Meghan Ritch]

Summarize

1. What type of historical document is the source?
This historical document is in the form of an interview.

2. What specific information, details, and/or perspectives does the source provide?
The source provides Doc Edwards' perspective on his life as a slave under the control of "Marse Paul."

3. What is the subject and/or purpose of the source?
The subject of the interview is the life of Doc Edwards as a slave and the purpose is to find out what slavery was like from the point-of-view of a slave.

4. Who was the author and/or audience of the source?
Doc Edwards, a former slave to Paul Cameron. Doc Edwards was from Stagville, NC, and was a slave for 84 years.

Contextualizing

1. When and where was the source produced?
The interview given by Doc Edwards was produced in Staggville, NC on August 6, 1937.

2. Why was the source produced?
This interview was produced to provide a first-hand account of what life was like for this domestic slave. This source provided insight on what his life was like being a slave on the Cameron Plantation and under the control of Paul Cameron.

3. What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
Doc Edwards was 84 years old at the time and slaves were free at this point. However, Doc Edwards' actions show a true attachment to his master, Paul Cameron, because he still lives on the Plantation and works (no longer for free, however) for Paul Cameron, and he expresses intentions of staying there for the rest of his life.

4. What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?
The language and dialect used by Doc Edwards initially tells the reader that this is written by someone who is uneducated. Also, in the second sentence, when he says "I belonged to Marse Paul Cameron" it automatically tells the reader that this is referencing slavery or a time in which slavery was allowed because in our current time, nobody belongs to anybody. The various descriptions provided by Doc Edwards describe the "place" as being on a farm or plantation. Also, at the end, when "Yankees" are mentioned, it hints to the fact that Doc Edwards is in the South, although he already provided where he is from. Finally, and also at the end of the interview, Doc Edwards explained that slaves were considered free at that point in time, which provided the reader with the information needed to conclude that the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution had finally been passed, which abolished and prohibited slavery.

[Brian Carnesecchi]

Summarizing:
Doc Edwards:
This was a historical narrative of Doc Edwards recalling what life was like as a slave on Paul Cameron’s plantation.
1. It is a primary source document; I think it was just an account written by Doc Edwards himself.

2. It primarily provides details about the tasks that Doc Edwards had to perform like cooking in the kitchen and picking cotton, and separating wheat. It also provides details about what it was like to interact with his former master, as well as the type of shoes he wore. He compared some information to what his life is like at the present of writing the account. It is from his historical perspective of his own accounts. However, there is one part that he talks a little bit about how his master, Paul Cameron viewed him and his fellow slaves.

3. It seems the subject and purpose is to expand the reader’s knowledge about what slave life was like on a plantation.

4. The author is Doc Edwards, a former plantation slave who worked primarily in the house cooking, but spent some time tending to the harvest in the field. It seems his audience is anyone who is too young to know what life was like and who wants to take the time to find out.

Contextualizing: Overall I have to conclude that house servant/slave life was very different and varied for each slave and slave owner and also depending on the perspective that slave saw his experience. Doc Edwards must have been relatively young when his situation changed and he was declared a free man and no longer a slave as he was before. He seems to have felt that he was treated fairly well by his master when he was a slave. However, upon reading some other secondary and primary accounts by Blassingame, Clarke, and Anderson, there were some slaves who had a very difficult time as a house servant, constantly living under high demands and intense scrutiny. It would seem apparent that the younger house servants were most likely treated with more gentleness and patience than the older. I would think that each slave owner treated his slaves differently depending on his own personality, character, and nature.

When and where was the source produced?
Doc Edwards wrote the account of his slave life on the same plantation that he used to be a slave, living instead as a free man at least in theory.

Why was the source produced?
Edwards wrote the source to give a first hand account of slave life. Maybe he did it just for himself and his posterity, maybe for public knowledge. I don't know.

What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
I know that in the first half of the 20 century the US Government passed some reparations bills and tried to make things right with previous slaves and their families. Additionally, the Great Depression was underway and WWII was not far into the future.

What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?
Edwards deals with real life information about daily life on the plantation including what an interaction would have been life with his master. The way he uses written language suggests he is dated to that time, especially how he refers to the Yankees as if they could have possibly done harm to him and the plantation.

When and where was the source produced?

[Casey Stewart]

Summary:
This historical document is an interview with Doc Edwards when he was 84 years old. Doc Edwards was a slave under Paul Cameron. Throughout the interview, Doc Edwards describes his life as a slave on the plantation. He recalls his day-to-day duties including working in the kitchen, working in the field, weaving cotton, building tools, and turning wheat into grain. During the end of his interview, Doc Edwards talks about his experience when he was freed from the “Yankees.” Although he was freed, he stayed on Paul Cameron’s plantation, in a little house with a garden, and chose to never leave until the “good Lawd” called him home.
1. What type of historical document is the source?
This historical document is an interview conducted by Daisy Wheley. She interviewed Doc Edwards when he was 87 years old on August 6, 1937.
2. What specific information, details and/or perspectives does the source provide?
This interview provides people a description into the life of an ex-slave. It provides readers with great details of Doc Edwards everyday duties. It also allows readers to see the connection that Doc Edwards felt to Master Paul Cameron even after he was freed.
3. What is the subject and/or purpose of the source?
The purpose of Doc Edward’s interview is to provide real life information about the life and times of an ex-slave.
4. Who was the author and/or audience of the source?
This interview of Doc Edwards was conducted by Daisy Wheley. She recounts his life for the audience who is interested in learning more about slave life from a firsthand account.

Contextualizing:
1. When and where was the source produced?
This document was produced on August 6, 1937. Doc Edwards states that he was born in Staggville, NC; however, I am not sure if that is where the source was produced.
2. Why was the source produced?
This source was produced to inform others of an ex-slaves personal account of his life. It was produced to provide awareness of a firsthand account of a slave living on a plantation during the antebellum period in North Carolina. Another reason that this document might have been produced was to keep the record alive for the Cameron Plantations.
3. What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
During the time that this was produced the people in America were still feeling the effects of The Great Depression. Obviously slavery had been abolished, based on the interview from Doc Edwards. He was being paid pension from the government, possibly from being enslaved and possibly from being of the age to receive social security. It was very important that Daisy Wheley got the interview when she did because Doc Edwards was fairly old, 84. It is important that we have this primary source and the personal account from an ex-slave.
4. What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?
Unlike the passages from Blassingame and Anderson, Doc Edwards interview is a firsthand account of the life of a slave during the Civil War. Because of this knowledge, we are able to use Doc Edward’s interview as a primary source. Blassingame and Anderson’s accounts are all based on what they have heard or studied, leaving them to be secondary sources. Other information that can place the source in time and place is all of the duties that the slave provided. Doc Edwards describes his shoes being made by a cobbler, using oxen to plow fields, and sweeping wheat dust out of the barn. Back in the 1800’s, these were common task, however, now-a-days; we would have machines to do all of the work for us.

[Kayla Jernigan]

Summarize
1. This historical document is an interview.
2. Doc Edwards explains that he worked inside the house as a slave. He tells that Paul Cameron’s son was his master and he was very good to him. He says that Paul Cameron had so many slaves that he did not know how many he had or who they were. Despite the fact that Paul did not know who he was, he stayed on the plantation after he was a free man. He seems to really like his master. He also explains some of his specific duties which are: cooking for “Marse Benehan” (probably pronounced as Benjamin), weaving cotton, doing something with wheat (I didn’t really understand what!), and used oxen, horses, and mules to plow the land.
3. The purpose of this interview is to tell about his experience living and working on the plantation as a slave.
4. The author of this interview is Doc Edwards, an 84 year old ex-slave.

Contextualize
1. The source was produced on August 6, 1937. There is no exact location of where the letter was produced, but I am assuming somewhere in Alabama where the plantation is located.
2. The source was produced to give people an example of how slaves were treated. This is quite a different perspective from what most slaves experienced, so it was nice to know that at least some slaves were treated decently.
3. The Great Depression was still going on during this time. It was probably slowly coming to an end in 1937, but there were still effects of this tragedy.
4. It is definitely easy to tell that Doc Edwards was not educated due to his spelling. Given the date, we can assume that he was a slave who was not entitled to an education. We can also tell that it took place in the south because that is where most plantations were located and he also talked about the Yankees coming to tell them they were free. We can place this information in time because he talks about blacksmiths and shoemakers which is how they made things in the past. He also mentioned using oxen, horses, and mules for plowing which were used during the time of slaves. It is very easy to tell by the context of the interview that these events took place during the time of slavery.

[Denise Smith]

Summarizing
The document is a transcribed letter of an interview of Doc Edwards - he was a former slave / domestic servant of Paul Cameron - August of 1937. He discussed life of the plantation for himself and other slaves during his life there in Staggville, NC. His account of his enslavement is not a hostile description that disrespects Paul Cameron. Doc Edwards speaks very plainly about what happened as if it just was the normal activity of the day during that era.

Subject: Doc Edwards
Author: Doc Edwards
Purpose: To describe enslavement life on the plantation
Audience: People who were not enslaved
Type of Historical Source: Letter of the interview with Doc Edwards

1. This historical document source is a letter derived from the interview with Doc Edwards.
2. This source provides a detailed account of life on Paul Cameron’s plantation. Doc Edwards discussed how they made their clothing and shoes, his day to day work habits inside the house, how they made their tools and he gave a little insight about Paul Cameron.
3. The subject of the source was Doc Edwards and the purpose of the source was to describe enslavement life on Paul Cameron’s plantation.
4. The intended audience was People who were not enslaved.

Contextualizing
1.The document was produced August 6, 1937 in Staggeville, NC.
2.The source was produced to document life on the plantation for the domestic servant Doc Edwards.
3. In 1937, black people were free, but “Jim Crow Laws” plagued the south – in which North Carolina was located – so there was segregation and black Americans did not feel free even though they obtained their freedom legally.
4.The date and location of where the letter is documented places the source in North Carolina in 1937. The language used in the letter also places the letter in the south during 1937. Doc Edwards uses words such as “DAT” (that), “bawn” (born), and “Marse” (Master) in his letter. This dialect shows he is an uneducated person, and it reveals how many blacks spoke during the 1930’s. Most black people do not speak this way today.

[Kimberley Thurston]

This is a letter in the form of an interview from Doc Edwards explaining his life as a slave on the plantation. The letter begins with Doc Edwards explaining his history and the origin of his name. He then explains that he lived in the Cameron house with tons of other slaves. He worked with wheat. In the colder weather, he worked with cotton. He seems to enjoy working for Cameron and even talked about how he wanted to stay forever.

Summarizing:
1) Interview with Doc Edwards.
2) This source provides a brief telling of Doc Edwards’ life as a slave on Paul Cameron’s plantation.
3) The subject is Doc Edwards’ life and the purpose is to show what life was like for a slave on the plantation.
4) Doc Edwards was the author and the audience was the interviewee as well as anyone who wants to know the life of a slave on the plantation.
Contextualizing:
1) Staggville, N.C. August 6, 1937.
2) In order to tell about life on the plantation.
3) During this time Doc says that people from the North came to tell the slaves that they were free but Doc said that he belonged to Cameron. There were free slaves about at this time.
4) The tools that were being used; the northerners coming. Doc also tell the date of his birth which can put a date to the time period.

[Alexandra Morgan Teich]

Summary In 1937, Doc Edwards recalled his life as a slave when he was 84 years old. He told a descriptive account of the work that he did and his appreciation for his master. He was born in Staggville, NC to Murphy and Judy McCullers. He never referred to himself as a McCullers, however, he just called himself Doc Edwards. He was a slave to Paul Cameron's son, Benehan. Doc Edwards recalls his master being good to him. He worked first inside the house but when he grew ill his time was split between chores inside and working on the fields. He inferred that the Cameron family had a lot of slaves when he mentions that they were never counted. On the plantation there were many different workshops where tools and other important things were made. They had a workshop where they made wooden shovels, rakes, pitchforks, and hoes and nails were made in the blacksmith shop. The blacksmith shop also made picks and grubbing hoes. He continues to talk about the wheat thrasher and the process that is conducted when cutting and laying wheat. He had very specific directions. He made his own clothes the cotton that was grown on the plantation and their shoes were made by the shoemaker. They had wooden soles and iron was around it to prevent the wood from splitting. They didn't have horses only oxen to do the plowing. He mentions that when the Civil War was over and he was considered free he chose to stay on the plantation and live there until he died.
Reconciling Context The secondary accounts of domestic slave life contain what Doc Edwards is describing in his own letter. He talks about his master being good to him. He also talks about making his own clothes and having shoes made for him. However, in these secondary sources the authors make light of the slave experience. They don't seem to be slave sympathizers and instead talk about how good the life was for a domestic slave. I don't understand why
Anderson would say that there is no evidence of domestic slaves being mistreated when the institution of slavery is the mistreatment of human beings.
Summary Questions
What type of historical document in the source?
This type of source is a primary document written by a former slave.
What specific information, details, and/or perspectives does the source provide?
This letter specifically includes details from Doc Edwards work on the fields and inside the home at the Cameron plantation. He also talks in detail about the wheat thrasher and the steps that he takes to harvest the wheat in the fields. He talks specifically about the tools he builds and the clothes he makes with materials from the plantation.
What is the subject and/or purpose of the source?
The source is a first-hand account of a former slave recalling his life while living on a plantation before he was free.
Who was the author and/or audience of the source?
Daisy Wheley was the author of the interview and Doc Edwards was the interviewee.
Contextualzing Questions
When and where was the source produced?
The account was produced when Doc Edwards was 84 years old. The interview took place in Staggville, NC.
Why was the source produced?
The source was produced in order to have a direct telling of the life of a slave on a plantation.
What was happening within the immediate and broader context at the time the source was produced?
In 1937 the institution of slavery had been abolished but laws of segregation were still in place. African American people still lived as second class citizens.
What summarizing information can place the source in time and place?
The technology is a dead give-away that the interview took place in the 1800s. He talks about plowing with oxen and creating wooden tools to work in the field.

[John Lee]

One of the things going on with the secondary sources is an attempt to figure out how enslaved people who worked in their owners' homes were treated. Blassingame was seeking to understand the richness and depth of the cultural experiences that enslaved people had. The passages I included for analysis in this assignment may have overplayed the "positive" side of enslaved persons' experiences. Blassingame also has a chapter in his book punishment and has much to say about the brutality of slavery. Also, remember that I included this passage from Blassingame, something he got from a slave who worked in a house for his master.

"We were constantly exposed to the whims and passions of every member of the family; from the least to the greatest their anger was wreaked upon us. Nor was our life an easy one, in the hours of toil or in the amount of labor performed. We were always required to sit up until all the family had retired; then we must be up at early dawn in summer, and before day in winter."

[Christine Fischer]

Summary of Doc Edward's interview:

This interview, from 1937, is a very personal account of what this man, Doc Edwards, experienced as a slave on the Cameron plantation in the later 1850's. He was a house servant that did a lot of the cooking and cleaning. He also worked in the large workshops on the plantation to make tools (shoves, hoes, nails, etc) and seperate the wheat from the straw so that it could be ground in the mills. In the fall, he talks about weaving cotton and making clothes. He also seems to have participated in the plowing with oxen and ox-carts. He also discusses his Master, Paul Cameron, and how he treated him well but had so many slaves that he couldn't keep track of the ones he "owned." Doc wrote a lot about his work life. I'm guessing this is because he didn't experience much outside of working. He doesn't mention anything fun or adventurous, two things that kids are supposed to have during childhood.

1. This source is an interview with Doc Edwards, a former slave on the Cameron Plantation.
2. This interview provides information about how life was as a house servant and slave on the Cameron Plantation. While it provides first-hand accounts and details of his life as a worker from Doc Edwards' perspective, I am pretty positive, based on the Lewis Clark accounts, that this was NOT the experience of all slaves in the late 1800's.
3. I believe the purpose of the source was to inform people about the experiences, conditions, and life of a slave with a first-hand account, as opposed to the many accounts that were written by slave owners or overseers.
4. The author of the source was Doc Edwards himself and the audience is anyone interested in learning about slave life in the late 1800's.

Contextualizing:

In contextualizing Doc Edward's interview, I noticed that one of the most important qualities was Doc's speech. I am not too sure if he actually wrote this down or if he spoke it and his interviewer recorded it exactly as he said it. Regardless, it cannot go unnoticed that Doc Edwards did not have much or any schooling while growing up on the Cameron Plantation. Although he claims that Paul Cameron was a good Master, he obviously did not think slaves or house servants were worthy enough to learn how to read and write properly. Although one could infer that the subject of the letter may be from a different time period, it is hard to overlook Doc's use of the title "Master," making the reader believe he is speaking of a time when slavery was prevalent. He also mentions plowing with oxen and the slow, methodic task of pulling wheat from hay; two things that newere technologies took over in the 1930's. In reconciling the interview with the above passages, it must be noted that not all accounts were the same. They may have been similar, as most all slaves were chastised and ridiculed, but it seems as though some slaves were treated "better" than others. However, all slaves were worked constantly and mistreated in many ways by their masters or overseers.

1. The source was produced in August 1937.
2. The source was produced in order to present a first-hand account of slavery in North Carolina. Most of the other accounts were by white masters or overseers.
3. Unfortunately, in the 1930's, almost a full 90 years after the institution of slavery was rampant, there were still segregation laws in most southern states. It's incredulous to think that many people truly believed that "seperate" could still mean "equal."
4. It is obvious that Doc is speaking of the 1850's and plantation life through his mention of his Masters and how he "belonged" to them. In the end, he also talks about the Yankees and how they came to "free" the slaves. These context clues really put the source in time and place.