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[log in to unmask] wrote:
> Has anyone done an analysis of the positive recollections versus the
> negative recollections in these narratives? I would also be curious what that would
> disclose. Perhaps it would indicate something that no one wants to
> admit....that slavery in fact was not all that dehumanizing or cruel as far as the
> actual participants were concerned.
>
> I assume these are first hand narratives with actual former slaves. I think
> it is interesting that some of you want to argue with the first hand
> recollections of the actual participants in slavery as to whether they knew what
> they were talking about in describing their actual experience.
>
>
> JD South
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>
Historians must always appraise the reliability of the sources they use.
Yes, there are quite a few evaluations of the WPA slave narratives. The
reflections of the late John Blassingame are worth considering (see the
introduction to his edited collection, Slave Testimony).
In my classes, I have students read and interpret what they believe to
be interviews with two different ex-slaves. The interviews present very
different views of the institution, but in fact are both interviews of
the same person (one by a young black man, the other by a middle-aged
white woman). We discuss the differences and the precautions one must
take in using interviews such as these.
Doug Deal
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