Slave Narratives

Articles & Resources

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Frederick Douglass Narrative
The full text of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Sojourner Truth Narrative
Born a slave, Truth escaped and was later emancipated after New York abolished slavery. This narrative covers her life as a slave and abolitionist.

Bethany Veney
Find out what life was like for female slaves. Read Bethany Veney's narrative about her life.

Harriet Jacobs
The full text of Harriet Jacobs' autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Explore what life was like for a slave woman.

Jourdon Anderson's Letter to His Old Master
This letter was a response from an escaped slave to his former master's offer to take him back. From Civil Liberties Guide Tom Head.

From Slavery to Freedom: James Mars
Read a narrative written by James Mars, a slave born and sold in Connecticut.

From Freedom to Slavery: J.D. Green
J.D. Green tells about his experience as a runaway slave from Kentucky.

From Slavery to Freedom: Henry Watson
Henry Watson's provides a narrative about his life as a slave and fugitive.

Henry Clay Bruce
Henry Bruce tells about his experience as a slave, offers observations about slavery, and describes the challenges that faced freed slaves after the Civil War.

American Slave Narratives
This page provides narratives taken by the writers and journalists of the Works Progress Administration.

Josiah Henson's Life
Henson's writes about his life as slave and freeman. Several years after the publication of his narrative, Harriet Beecher Stowe used several excerpts from his book and after she wrote the preface to his revised edition, Henson claimed that he was Stowe's "Uncle Tom". Decide for yourself whether his claim is true.

Lewis Clarke's Account
This is an interesting narrative by Clarke. He also provides answers to questions often asked about slavery.

Henry Bibb's Narrative
Explore Bibb's life and read his opinion on the evils of slavery.

Charles Ball's Narrative
Ball gives a fascinating account of how he felt about the prospects of a new master and a new life.

Narrative of William Wells Brown
In addition to the text of the Narrative of William Wells Brown, the University of North Carolina also provides a brief biography and the text of several speeches made by Brown.