Both www.slaveryinnewyork.org and the readings highlight the existence of slavery in New York City and its historical significance. I found the website to be more effective than the readings because of the emphasis on primary documents such as the excerpt from a trade book listing the material value of a woman slave (pictured on the left), the maps of early New York City and profiles on individual slaves. The readings were dry and listed endless amounts of facts making it harder to figure out the key arguments.
The website seemed to give a general overview of slavery in New York City where the readings were definitely more detailed. I think the website most matched the message of the White reading which stated that “Slavery in the northern states was certainly different from slavery in the South, but as we shall see it was not necessarily milder.”(White p80) I found the White reading to be more persuasive than the website because it provided a well rounded view of slavery in New York City, showing the milder aspects of it and the harsher realities. However, I think both the authors of the readings and the designers of the website achieved their goals. It’s evident that with the use of primary documents and individual profiles that website is trying to show the severity of slave life in New York City and the remarkableness of the enslaved people. The readings provide a more substantial overview of the pros and cons of slave life and the differences between southern and northern slaves.
I think that slavery was a worldly influence among all people no matter how mild the case. New York, in particular, held host to slavery over various races and made this touchy topic a big part of how it grew into something better. I would rate the topic of slavery pretty high in importance of being included on the midterm.
I believe that slavery was a influence and a spark that ignited the whole world. It showed us what people did and what we cant do. We learned a lot about slavery and its a big piece in american history.
Slavery was a big topic covered in class we discussed how it came about, how people were mistreated and how we decided to end it, which was a long process. We also used different sources to find out information on slavery, such as the website and our readings.