Charles Thompson’s Slave Narrative

Charles Thompson, a former slave and preacher, used his position in his community to help organize slaves against their masters. When

slaves came together in groups to discuss their position, masters became fearful of what they may discover. Charles Thompson used

narratives and oral language to help organize these events and convince slaves to revolt against their position. How else did

Thompson influence the American people?

Slave narratives, stories of slavery told by slaves themselves, were an important tool in the fight to end slavery.This example of a slave narrative was written by Charles Thompson, a former slave and preacher. Thompson often used his position as a preacher to gain the respect of other slaves and to organize meetings of all kinds against the wishes of his masters.

Thompson, C. (1875) . Biography of a slave : being the experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson, a preacher of the United Brethren Church, while a slave in the South : together with startling occurrences incidental to slave life. Library of Congress: American Memory, First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920.

Slaves did not have the same rights as free people. They had been taken away from their original homes and forced to live on plantations that they were not allowed to leave. Despite their differences and their lack of freedom, the slaves created new lives for themselves by forming communities on the plantations. Religion, especially Christianity, played an important role in those communities.

Waud, A. R. (1860-1865). Negro Church, Smith's Plantation, Port Royal Island, S.C. . Other: Prints & Photographs.

During the New Deal, the federal government hired people to record the lives of former slaves. People working for the “Federal Writers’ Project” interviewed former slaves during the 1930s and gave them a chance to describe their life experiences in their own words.

Turnage, E. (1937). South Carolina Narratives, Volume XIV, Part 1 Folk lore: folk tales (Negro). Library of Congress: American Memory.

In this quotation, Fountain Hughes discusses the transition from being a slave to being a free person.

Unknown. (1949). Interview with Fountain Hughes, Baltimore, Maryland, June 11, 1949 (Transcription). Library of Congress: American Memory, Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories.

This image shows slaves sifting through cotton on a plantation in South Carolina . Both Charles Thompson and Fountain Hughes would have done similar work on plantations.

O'Sullivan, T. H. (1862). [Port Royal Island, S.C. African Americans preparing cotton for the gin on Smith's plantation]. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Selected Civil War Photographs.