As Mistress Lisa put it, "The savage just stood there, as tall and big as possible, and refused to hand the fruit over." ... They could see that they didn't have to suffer through anguish and pain every day. ... Then I was going to follow a river to the next city to catch a train. I had just taken one step into the woods when Master Boyd leapt onto me and dragged me even further into the woods, all the while beating me. ... He walked over to me and kicked me in the stomach and face. ...

• Word Count: 1428
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

He lives with his mother a widow, and his sister Betty, his father died, drowned in the Mississippi River. ... That night the men crept up on Jessie and through a sack over his head and kidnaped him. ... The ship tossed and turned through the ocean every day. ... A plague of diseases came over the slaves which diseased some of the crew members as well. ... The boys grabbed on to a piece of wood and jumped overboard because the ship was clearly going to sink. ...

• Word Count: 1821
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

He grew up on the banks of the Tuckahoe Creek deep within the woods of Maryland. ... Her owner trusted her to watch over and raise the children of the slaves until they were old enough to begin their labor. ... While all of the mothers were busy working in the fields of their master, Aaron Anthony, she was busy watching over their infants. ... She was a master fisher, and spent most of her days in the river or in the field farming. ... They became friends and Daniel began to smuggle Frederick in the house through the garden. ...

• Word Count: 1368
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

With slaves spread over a vast region it was difficult to find a suitable female partner, many slaves died in the early years without ever doing so. ... The whites feared these people because of their strong influence over the slaves and tried everything they could think of to abolish the "heathen" ritual punishing anyone they found practicing, however, the Obeah remained an influential figure in African slave life. ... As in America the Obeah exerted a great deal of power and influence over the slave population and plantation owners in the Caribbean feared these charismatic religious leaders ...

• Word Count: 2095
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate