This book contains the complete collection of all 14 narratives told to employees of the Work Projects Administration by former slaves living in Virginia at the time of the Great Depression in the United States. The narratives in this varied collection include stories of life as a slave, life after the end of the Civil War, and life well into the 1930s when they were written down and compiled into multiple publications. All seven of these individual publications have been combined into thi...

*When We Were Slaves*, assembled under the auspices of the Work Projects Administration, gathers firsthand recollections of African Americans who endured slavery and emancipation. Its episodes of forced labor, family separation, religious faith, punishment, resistance, and uncertain freedom create a collective portrait rather than a single continuous narrative. The prose preserves the rhythms, idioms, and oral character of remembered speech, while editorial framing places individual testim...

This book contains the complete collection of all narratives told to employees of the Work Projects Administration by former slaves living in the states that comprised the Confederate States of America. The narratives were collected in 1936-1938 at the time of the Great Depression in the United States. The narratives in this varied collection include stories of life as a slave, life after the end of the Civil War, and life well into the 1930s when they were written down and compiled into m...

By: WPA, Pub. 1940, reprinted 2121, 442 pages, Index, E-BOOK, ISBN #978-1-63914-399-3. The Spanish Land Grants were land claims filed by settlers in Florida after the transfer of the territory from Spain to the United States in 1821 in order to prove land ownership. Starting in 1790, Spain offered land grants to encourage settlement to the sparsely populated and vulnerable Florida colony. When the United States assumed control of Florida, it agreed to honor any valid land grants. This volu...

In "The Horrors of Slavery in America," the Work Projects Administration presents a poignant and unflinching documentation of the brutal realities faced by enslaved individuals in the antebellum United States. This comprehensive compilation encompasses firsthand narratives, historical accounts, and vivid testimonials, skillfully employing a blend of oral histories and archival research to paint a harrowing picture of the inhumanity of slavery. The literary style is grounded in realism, uti...

Slavery existed long before the United States of America was founded, but so did opposition to slavery. Both flourished after the founding of the country, and the anti-slavery movement was known as abolition. For many abolitionists, slavery was the preeminent moral issue of the day, and their opposition to slavery was rooted in deeply held religious beliefs. Quakers formed a significant part of the abolitionist movement in colonial times, as did certain Founding Fathers like Benjamin Franklin...

This book contains the complete collection of all 26 narratives told to employees of the Work Projects Administration by former slaves living in Tennessee at the time of the Great Depression in the United States. The narratives in this varied collection include stories of life as a slave, life after the end of the Civil War, and life well into the 1930s when they were written down and compiled into multiple publications. All seven of these individual publications have been combined into th...

By: WPA, Pub. 1940, reprinted 2121, 442 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-1-63914-000-8. The Spanish Land Grants were land claims filed by settlers in Florida after the transfer of the territory from Spain to the United States in 1821 in order to prove land ownership. Starting in 1790, Spain offered land grants to encourage settlement to the sparsely populated and vulnerable Florida colony. When the United States assumed control of Florida, it agreed to honor any valid land grants. This ...

By: WPA, Pub. 1940, reprinted 2121, 412 pages, Index, E-BOOK, ISBN #978-1-63914-400-6. The Spanish Land Grants were land claims filed by settlers in Florida after the transfer of the territory from Spain to the United States in 1821 in order to prove land ownership. Starting in 1790, Spain offered land grants to encourage settlement to the sparsely populated and vulnerable Florida colony. When the United States assumed control of Florida, it agreed to honor any valid land grants. This volu...

By: WPA, Pub. 1941, reprinted 2121, 350 pages, Index, E-BOOK, ISBN #978-1-63914-401-3. The Spanish Land Grants were land claims filed by settlers in Florida after the transfer of the territory from Spain to the United States in 1821 in order to prove land ownership. Starting in 1790, Spain offered land grants to encourage settlement to the sparsely populated and vulnerable Florida colony. When the United States assumed control of Florida, it agreed to honor any valid land grants. This volu...

In "The Testimonies of Slaves," the Work Projects Administration (WPA) presents a compelling compilation of firsthand narratives from former enslaved individuals, illuminating the profound human experiences often obscured by historical abstraction. This work employs a straightforward literary style that juxtaposes raw emotion with stark realities, reflecting the WPA's objective to document, preserve, and share the voices of those who endured centuries of oppression. Contextually aligned wi...

This book contains the complete collection of all 37 narratives told to employees of the Work Projects Administration by former slaves living in Ohio at the time of the Great Depression in the United States.  The narratives in this varied collection include stories of life as a slave, life after the end of the Civil War, and life well into the 1930s when they were written down and compiled into multiple publications.  All seven of these individual publications have been combined ...