Howard Zinn's Experience Of Slavery

The readings in Zinn’s book added to my previous knowledge of the practice and experience of slavery in this country. I had no idea that there were so many slave uprisings. One secret keeper wrote to another, “[I]t will not be long before it will take place, and I am fully satisfied we shall be in full possession of the [w]hole country in a few weeks” (Zinn and Arnove 53). This illustrates how confident the slaves were regarding their plan for freedom and insurrection. Additionally, I already knew about how badly the slaves were treated, but their personal accounts were heartbreaking. An unknown slave wrote, “ We have no Property. We have no Wives. We have no Children. We have no City. No Country. But we have a Father in Heaven, and we are
William Bradford repeatedly wrote about God intervening in human affairs. In one instance, he stated, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the fast and furious ocean…” (Norton Anthology 75). Through statements like this one, Bradford illustrates the Puritans’ heavy reliance on God. They seem to believe that everything happens for a reason in relation to God. If there were prosperous times, the pilgrims were being rewarded. If bad events occurred, they were being punished. This is how Bradford and the Puritans viewed the world. Anne Bradstreet exhibited similar beliefs. She mentioned God and the concept of eternity in many of her poems and letters. In a letter to her children, she discussed how Satan had tried to hurt her by making her question her beliefs many times. She said that she overcame this by seeing all of the little miracles that surrounded her (Norton Anthology 125). Her intense faith in God is a trademark of her Puritan beliefs. Bradstreet exhibited an overwhelming amount of trust in a being that she had never actually seen. Therefore, Bradford and Bradstreet most definitely exhibit their Puritan beliefs throughout their