Incidents in The Life of Slave Girl

HIST1301
Fall 2020
Essay: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Due Date: September 28, 2020

Using Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, you will need to write an essay of at least 750 words answering ALL of the following questions using specific evidence from the book to support your answers fully.
1) Describe Linda’s childhood and relationship with her family. Was she treated in a “typical” manner that we would expect for slaves during this period?
2) Linda says, “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.” What causes her to make this statement? Why does she this idea to be true? After reading this book, do you agree or disagree with her assessment? Be sure to explain why fully.
3) What sorts of punishments does Linda describe as common for Southern slaves? How common did these punishments seem? What is this showing us about the nature of slavery? Why does she think that northerners did not recognize this brutality when they visited the south?
4) What happens to Linda after she ran away from Dr. Flint? Where does she hide? How long is she forced to stay there before she can leave for the north? What was the most difficult aspect of this period for her?
5) How does Linda describe racial relations in the north? Does she feel as if she is an equal there? How does this compare to her time in England?
6) How does Linda describe the impact of the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act? How does the passage of the law- and the repercussions of it- finally allow for her to get her freedom? Was she granted her freedom in the way that she expected/ wanted?

In order to receive full credit, you must fulfill the following criteria.
• This essay must be at least 750 words (or very close to.) For every 50 words that you are missing, there will be a penalty of 10-points taken off of your grade
• It is YOUR responsibility to give me a word count. Failure to give a word count is a 10-point penalty off of your final essay grade. This can be on the first or last page of the essay—just initial next to it to count as your signature
• Falsifying your word count will earn the paper an automatic grade of a 0
• Essays need to be typed in 12-point font and double-spaced. Failure to double-space the paper will result in a 10-point deduction
• All of the information for this paper can be found in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl so the use of outside sources is not necessary. If you want to use outside sources, you must tell me which sources you are getting your information from and provide citations and a bibliography. Failure to do so will be considered cheating and dealt with Academic Dishonesty Policy. Your footnotes and bibliography will not count towards your word count for the assignment.
• Each essay will be given a letter grade. This letter grade is represented by the following: A= 95, A-= 92, B+= 88, B= 85, B-= 82, C+= 78, C= 75, C-= 72, D= 60 and F= 50 or below
• Bonus: If you use Upswing or the online tutoring center, I will give you 15 bonus points on your essay as long as you:
• Submit a copy of your draft with their feedback with your corrected paper
• The Upswing Copy should be submitted as a separate file on Canvas