Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ball, Charles

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave" by Charles Ball is a historical account written in the mid-19th century. The narrative recounts the true story of the author's life as a slave in the Southern United States, detailing the harrowing experiences and memories associated with his upbringing, family separation, and eventual enslavement. The book sheds light on the brutal realities of slavery and its impact on individuals and families, making it an important document in understanding American history. The opening of the narrative introduces the readers to the author's tragic beginnings, marked by the forced separation from his mother at a very young age. He recalls the painful moment of being taken from her arms, the emotional distress experienced by both mother and child, and the subsequent life of hardship and degradation that awaited him as a slave. Ball describes his family history, detailing the struggles of his parents, the indifference of slave owners, and the dehumanizing conditions that characterize the lives of enslaved people. His early memories paint a vivid portrait of loss, survival, and the longing for familial bonds, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the horrors and resilience of the enslaved population throughout the narrative. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Richard J. Shiffer and the Distributed Proofreading volunteers at http://www.pgdp.net for Project Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 61.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2012-09-14