Summary Of Our Wretchedness In Consequences Of Slavery

David Walker; one of the many African American who were still slaves in the 1800s. Walker was born in 1796 in North Carolina with no father figure. His mother was free from slavery while his father, when he was alive, was a slave. During the later years of his life, Walker moved to Massachusetts. He started a small business there and married a woman who happened to be a fugitive slave. Even though slavery had been abolished after the Civil War, the discrimination and hate continued. Based on this background information, this is why he became a very avid antislavery advocate. In the year 1829, David Walker published his appeal, which was a collection of four articles he had written. Throughout these articles, Walker hits on many ideas and
arguments including, Racism, Equal Rights, and Religion. These ideas and arguments are mentioned in multiple articles at once. Racism, being one of the most known parts of slavery, is described in detail by Walker. He includes information that average people wouldn’t have ever known. A group called the American Colonization Society is specifically mentioned in his work. This group removed any free or freed slaves from the colonies and moved them back to Africa.
David Walker writes about African Americans’ rights as well. He predominantly talks about voting rights along with education and mentions the right in the constitution that 3/5 of the slave population would be included. The south did not allow colored men and women to vote, so the white voter power in the Electoral College had much more of an effect than the vote results showed. Due to this issue, it made it much more possible southern politicians to get into office which would result in more harsh laws and legislation against the blacks. Education, also seemed very important to Walker. He believed that African American knowledge wouldn’t only contradict the white supremacy idea but it would also scare the whites. Those who were educated, according to Walker, needed to teach the other slaves what they know. Literacy was also encouraged highly among the slaves as Walker pushed them to read. Along with this, Walker talks about religion or religious idea throughout the articles.
In his articles, Walker states multiple times that whites needed to repent to God for being wicked or God was going to punish them. He also believed that God wants the African Americans in slavery to reject any idea that the Bible supported slavery, as told by the whites. Walker also asks questions throughout his writing that usually revolved around the idea that whites had thoughts in their head that this was all wanted by God. His questions included things like “how could they think” or “why would our creator”. He also uses the Bible and religious history to help disprove the notion of white supremacy.
While reading his work, I found one article in particular the most interesting and compelling.
Article I titled “Our Wretchedness In Consequence Of Slavery” is the most interesting to me as it includes religion, history and tends to express his anger with the whites. Walker compared the Egyptian slavery to the Christian American slavery of his time and stated that the Egyptians treated the slaves just as cruel as the Americans do today. He also includes quotes from the Bible which state that the Pharaoh said to Joseph that he shall be in control over his house and rule all his people. Along with his religious references, he frequently speaks his mind on how he feels. He says things such as how the Americans are “the most wretched, degraded, and abject set of beings ever since the world began” and “I would not give a pinch of a snuff to be married to any white person I ever saw in all the days of my life”. His inclusion of this information makes this article great for opening is work and the most intriguing. Although each article includes information to persuade the reader, one article doesn’t persuade me or interest me as
much.
Article III titled “Our Wretchedness In Consequence Of The Preachers Of The Religion Of Jesus Christ” was still interesting to read, but wasn’t very persuasive to me.
Compared to the other articles, this one solely talks about religion and his view on what God thinks. Even being a Christian myself, I just don’t think every reader can relate to the ideas and thoughts of Walker and the other Religious slaves. I have also been hearing Christian beliefs all my life so the article is almost repetitive to me in a sense. I also tend to like writings with varying information throughout and this article stays on Religion too much for me to be intrigued. Although the article is the least intriguing to me, it does include a powerful quote however. “I call God, I call angels, I call men, to witness, that your destruction is at hand, and will be speedily consummated unless you REPENT.” This quote does show Walkers strength in his beliefs and does help prove his arguments involving
religion.
Now knowing this information, I do believe Walker should be mentioned to have helped with the social order of the 19th century and structure of society today and also a founding father of society. David Walker wrote this work before many of the antislavery groups and significant individuals where around. His work was read by an enormous amount of people form his time including whites and due to this, I believe he played a significant role in inspiring many if not all antislavery groups that came after his work. In his work, he also gives the slavery experience from the eyes of a slave, which many whites, who weren’t slave owners, didn’t know was so cruel and harsh. I have never heard of David Walker until this year in this course, but Walker should be included in all history books that mentions slavery as he played a major role in turning the tide against it.