Author Archives: CHARLES PARIETTI

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The Anti- Slavery Alphabet

“The Anti-Slavery Alphabet” by Merrihew and Thompson was first printed in 1847 during the anti-slavery movement in the United States. It was created as a children’s publication to teach children that slavery was wrong and should be abolished.

The goal of the piece was to create a way to help change the way children viewed slavery in order to help guide the path toward ultimately eliminating it. The publicists did a great job of targeting an audience specifically to children.  The children needed to be targeted in order to help put an end to slavery. By getting young people talking and thinking about the subject of slavery and how wrong it is then society can eventually begin to change.  The hope was that as the young grow and learn and see all the wrongdoing they can begin to put an end to slavery. Even though this publication might not have had the same impact that Uncle Tom’s Cabin had years later, it still would leave an impression on children at the time.

The perfect example of this method lies at the end of the alphabet.

“Z is a Zealous man, sincere,

Faithful, and just, and true;

An earnest pleader for the slave- Will you not be so too?”

After teaching the kids about the horrors of slavery they tell about someone brave fixing what is unjust and then demonstrating that a certain type of person needs to fix this travesty. Then they ask if the reader is that person. It is a terrific method used in order to help change the children’s view and make them realize that slavery needs to be ended.

By combining poetry and the alphabet the publication gauges the child’s attention so they are interested in reading the piece. This style makes the reading fun and easy for the children, at the same time plants the idea that slavery is wrong in their young minds, and that it needs abolished. Changing the minds of the younger generations assists in shifting society views and helps to move the United States towards the end of slavery.

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Little People

“Little People” discusses the evolution of not only what it means to be a child, but also the evolution of family life in general. The article gives examples of how a so called “childhood” differs from different generations. Starting in the middle ages, the article discusses how a childhood was seen as working on a farm, to eventually being married off before one turns a teenager. Kids would be sent off from their homes for years at a time to work for someone else only to return home for a little before being married and moving out once again. Then their is a jump in the way children were treated during the 18th century. During this time a large amount of illegitimate babies, and at times these babies would be either killed or abandoned by the woman who gave birth to them. This dramatic shift continues during the late 19th century and 20th century as children were used more as workers in factories to help support their families. Today children are not expected to serve as workers for their families, but are still controlled in a way by their families as they are forced to go off to school to get an education. Even though the lifestyle of children has changed over the centuries, their freedom has not. They’re  fates are tied to that of their parents and it has been the same since the beginning of this whole “childhood” society. 

Not only has the evolution of childhood changed, but so has divorce. Their was a time back was divorce was not even seen as an option to men or women. Then when it became an option it was only granted under extremely drastic measures. Nowadays, divorce is a part of our society, people now don’t even get shocked when they hear that someone is divorced or getting a divorce because it has become something we have accepted into our culture. 

Childhood and divorce will continue to evolve over time and in centuries from now they will look back at how children’s lives were during our time and how divorce was as well.