Two Contrasting Views of Slavery in Literature Beloved...

In this essay, I will be examining the works of two authors on the topic of slavery in America: Ulrich B. Phillips American Negro Slavery (1918) and Toni Morrison Beloved (1987). One writes as a Southerner and a historian who is defending southern slaveholders and draws upon contemporary racial theory to justify the system as beneficial to African Americans. The other writes as an African-American woman who is looking to write women into history and in doing so, add a female voice to the past. The purpose of comparing these two texts is to bring awareness that historical knowledge is constructed and not a given and that the profile of the author influences the content of their work. When examining the history of slavery in†¦show more content†¦It was about these anonymous people called slaves. What they do to keep on, how they make a life, what theyre willing to risk Almost 70 years earlier, Ulrich B. Phillips wrote American Negro Slavery (1918). Of his work, Phillips wrote: the historians chief concern is with facts, their authenticity and accuracy; and interpretation is a secondary consideration. While the goal of both authors was to record the past, the way in which they have chosen to do so differs greatly. When reading these two works together, one is struck by the difference in perspectives of Morrison and Phillips in how they regard writing about the past. Toni Morrisons Beloved can be read as an overt and passionate quest to fill a gap neglected by historians and in fugitive slave narratives, to record the everyday lives of the disremembered and unaccounted for While `recording the everyday was the goal of Phillips, he does so entirely from a white perspective and without consultation of slave sources, instead basing his work on the written accounts of slaveowners. This speaks volumes as to his perception of the importance of slaves themselves, considering their stories an unnecessary addition to his work on the topic of slavery. As Morrison reminds us historically, we [African Americans] were seldom invited to participate in the discourse even when we were its topic. Common to both works, is the way in which the