its for 2nd semester of BBA

1. SPEECH OF JANUARY,1840
- James Curry
Presented by: Group 6
Indira Poudel
Swati Shah
Yajan Khadka
Prajol joshi

2. BIOGRAPHY

3. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
In a region thus sparsely settled the average prosperity of
the inhabitants was necessarily low. Those who produced a
surplus found difficulty in disposing of it because of the
lack of convenient markets. Planters living near the mouths
of the rivers might, by the purchase of sea-going vessels,
transport their commodities to the West Indies or to
northern markets with the assurance of a reasonable
return. Industries were limited, towns small, and each farm
an economic unit. Throughout the colonial period the price
of tobacco was uncertain and the fluctuations were
accompanied by economic distress. The production of naval
stores was usually profitable, but life in the pine forests
was hard and primitive. Stock raising and farming were the
chief occupations of the settlers. The raising of stock was,
in fact, the most profitable pursuit of those living in the
back country, for the woods provided forage and the cost of
transportation to market was negligible.

4. SOCIAL CONDITION
Even in the early days of the frontier, life had its social
distinctions. In general, colonial society was divided into
four classes: the gentry, the yeomanry, the indentured
servants and poor whites, and the Negroes.
 The highest social group was that of the large landholders,
professional men, and public officials. Bringing with them
ideas of class distinction from the Old World, they insisted
upon a recognition of superiority in the New World. In
documents such as wills, deeds, and county court records,
signatures may be found followed by such terms as
"gentleman," "esquire," "planter." Members of this group
were usually well educated and cultured.
 Small farmers made up by far the largest single social group
in the Province. They worked the land with their own hands,
knew few conveniences, and were contented to subsist on
corn and pork "in the most slovenly manner. They took pride
in the title of yeoman and those who could write attached
the title to their names in all their public dealings.

5.  The class next below that of the yeomanry was composed of
indentured white servants. it was made up of convicts sold
as punishment for petty crime or for political offenses, of
women and children kidnapped in London or other English
ports, of colonial dependent children, and especially of
those who voluntarily sold their services in payment for
passage to the New World. The term of service for those
under sixteen years of age brought from Europe was five
years. Dependent orphans or illegitimate children of white
parents were legally known as apprentices but actually they
were in the same social class as indentured servants. They
served their masters from the time of apprenticeship to
the age of maturity, which was fixed at eighteen for the
girl and twenty-one for the boy.
 At the bottom of the social scale stood the Negro. It was
possible for the white man by diligence and hard work to
pass from one social class to that next above; but the
cultural development of the Negro, the color of his skin, and
the laws of the Province operated to keep him at the
bottom.

6. EDUCATIONAL CONDITION
The history of education in North Carolina is
closely related to that of religion. For more than
a century the preachers of North Carolina were
also the school teachers. The Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel made the first attempt
to establish schools in the Colony. The Colony also
had a few academies. Children of the gentry had
been educated at home by their mothers, taught
by tutors, or less frequently were sent to school
in Britain, but the majority of inhabitants were
neither educated nor had a great thirst for
knowledge. Nearly every planter had a small
collection of books.

7. ANTE-BELLUM
Northern politicians were opposed to
extending slavery into new territories west of
the Mississippi River. Southern politicians
held that slavery should be allowed to follow
the flag into new territories and new states,
and they were concerned about their power to
influence. These southern politicians feared
an imbalance between slave states and free
states would subvert their influence and give
too much power to those hostile toward
slavery. It was this concern that would lead to
southern states attempting to secede from
the union.

8. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, changed this. A
federal marshal who failed to arrest an alleged
runaway slave could be fined 1,000 dollars and the
federal government was now obligated to track
down and apprehend runaway slaves in the North.
In the North, any black could be arrested without a
warrant and turned over to someone who claimed
him or her to be a runaway and himself as the
owner. A fine of 1,000 dollars and six months'
imprisonment could be charged against anyone
caught providing shelter, food or any other
assistance to a slave. The Fugitive Slave Act of
1850 intensified the hunt for runaways. It
jeopardized all free blacks

9. SLAVERY
Slavery is a social-economic system under
which certain persons — known as slaves — are
deprived of personal freedom and compelled to
work. Slaves are held against their will from
the time of their capture, purchase, or birth,
and are deprived of the right to leave, to
refuse to work, or to receive compensation
(such as wages) in return for their labor. As
such, slavery is one form of unfree labor. In
its narrowest sense, the word slave refers to
people who are treated as the property of
another person, household, company,
corporation or government. This is referred to
as chattel slavery.

10. Slavery Defined……
The 1926 Slavery Convention described slavery
as "...the status and/or condition of a person
over whom any or all of the powers attaching
to the right of ownership are exercised..."
Slaves cannot leave an owner, an employer or a
territory without explicit permission (they
must have a passport to leave), and they will be
returned if they escape. Therefore a system
of slavery — as opposed to the isolated
instances found in any society — requires
official, legal recognition of ownership, or
widespread tacit arrangements with local
authorities, by masters who have some
influence because of their social and/or
economic status and their lives.

11. Pictures…….

14. Enslaved man and a boy

17. Enslaved woman with white child

18. SUMMARY
The narrator of the speech was a slave
who used to play with his mother’s
masters children and love each other as
brothers but soon after this love turned
into hatred. He had a great desire to
learn and to read for which he insisted
his master’s children to teach him and
he even tried to learn by reading books
whenever available. By reading the great
bible he learned that it was contrary to
the revealed will of god that one should
hold another as a slave.

19. Their masters and mistress were cruel.
Once his mistress had harshly beaten a
small girl for breaking the comb worth
about 25 – 37 cents. The poor child died
due to the swelling but mistress also died
soon after.
These slaves were poorly dressed as
their master don’t provide them with
clothes frequently. Slaves were provided
with small barren land to cultivate and
masters used to take them away after good
cultivation and again they were given
another barren land.

20. The narrator’s mother was a cook in the
house for about 22 years who have to cook
food for entire family members and other
slaves that constitutes 25-35 people. One
of the most trying scene for narrator was
the day when his mother was beaten by
the girl (daughter of a slave owner) whom
she had self raised for a small cause. He
just stand and didn’t dare to defend her.
His mother’s labor was very hard from the
early morning until 10 o’ clock in the night
that includes cooking breakfast & supper,
milking cows, taking care of children etc.

21. She would then be so tired that she can’t
even stand but also she sew the torn out
parts of the children’s clothes and in the
same time also take a nap. She even take care
of the orphans and provide them with
available clothes.
After 16, he was kept into the field to
work & he worked in hatter’s shop and raised
plantation all day. His work and slaves in field
do have striking difference: When hatter’s
shop workers go home, they carry to their
families the wages and they have the night to
sleep and rest whereas slaves carries to his
family at night only a weary body and a sick
mind.

22. Interpretation
Speech of January,1840 is a touching
narration by James Curry which portrays the
bitter reality of slavery system of 19th
century United States.
Born as a son of slave and group up as a
domestic servant, he shares his experience of
being a slave. The whole narrative focuses on
the brutality of the masters and slave
holders; and difficulties faced by the slaves.
We also come across a father (the master)
who takes no cares about his daughters; and
a mother (the mother of narrator) who
treats her master’s children as her own.

23. The slaves were poor and they had to work in
master’s tobacco plantation for living. The
narrator recalls how a little girl was beaten
by mistress to death and how his own
mother was beaten by master’s daughter
whom she raised as her own daughter. The
description of hardship of narrator’s
mother sweeps the emotion of readers and
makes us feel that; Is it a real story of 19th
century?

24. The slaves were involved in their works all
spring and summer, winter and summer for
tobacco plantation, some cotton and some
grains. The narrator differentiates
between a common man and slave.
“When they (common people) go home at
night, they carry to their families the
wages of their labor; and then they have
the night for rest and sleep. Whereas the
slave carries to his family at night, only a
weary body and sick mind, and all he can do
for them is done during the hours allowed
him for sleep”

25. The narrator meets another slave who
had returned after working for a rich
slaveholder in the neighborhood. The
slaves said pointing towards the field,
“I never saw blood flow anywhere as
I’ve seen it flow in that field. It flows
there like water.

26. RHETORICS
The speech is the classic example of a
personal narrative in which the words flows to
recall the nostalgia of the narrator during his
early years as a slave. The narration also
provides a visual appeal of the time. When we
go through the narration, we can see a little
girl getting punished by her mistress, the
anguish of the master, the toil of the
narrator’s mother and slaves hoeing the field.
We also feel the pain faced by slaves of
Carolina.

27. The narrator had also used the metaphor as
“the great master” for god almost at the end
of the 1st
paragraph.”… The poor child never
recovered. A white swelling cam from the
bruises on one of her legs of which she died in
two or three years. And my mistress was soon
after called by her great master to give her
account..”. And also in the middle of the 5th
paragraph narrator uses the term blood to
represent hard work.”… I never saw blood
flow from anywhere as I’ve seen it flow in
that field. It flows there like water…”.

28. The narration is emotionally expressive
as it explains the personal emotions and
feelings of the narrator so it is
objective. The narration is in way a
violent speech that includes all the
violence occurred during the existence
of slavery system.

29. Slavery and the making of America: Review
Description: This four-part PBS
series examines the history of
slavery in the United States with
impressive attention to detail. Over
four hours in length, SLAVERY AND
THE MAKING OF AMERICA reveals
just how central slavery was to the
creation of this country by focusing
on its political and economic roles in
society. Using slave narratives,
dramatic re-enactments, and stunning
accounts of little-recorded historical
events, the series exposes viewers to
the many aspects of history that are
often omitted from text books.

30. Slavery and the making of America: Review
…..This well-done series is
not only informative and full
of interesting facts, but also
highly moving, as much of the
story is told from the
perspective of the slaves
themselves. Suitable for the
general viewer and for
teachers to incorporate into
their lesson plans, SLAVERY
AND THE MAKING OF
AMERICA features narration
by Morgan Freeman, and a
musical score by Michael
Whalen.

31. Plot: Underscoring how slavery impacted the growth
of this country's Southern and Northern states; the
series examines issues still relevant today. The
variety of cultures from which the slaves originated
provided the budding states with a multitude of skills
that had a dramatic effect on the diverse
communities. From joining the British in the
Revolutionary War, to fleeing to Canada, to joining
rebel communities in the U.S. the slaves sought
freedom in many ways, ultimately having a far-
reaching effect on the new hemisphere they were
forced to inhabit.
Acclaimed actor Morgan Freeman narrates the series,
which features a score by Michael Whalen.

32. THE END