The United States governed by six hundred thousand despots : a true story of slavery : a rediscovered narrative, with a full biography - Jacobs, John S., 1815-1875; Schroeder, Jonathan D. S., 1981- (Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago Press, 2024)
"Narratives written by enslaved Africans in America are few in number. Some are transformative, like that of Harriet Jacobs; others are lesser, like the brief one attributed to Harriet's brother, John S. Jacobs. The revelation, here, of a much longer, richer, and more radical version of John's story, is a major historical event. His work is all the more significant for having been written and published in Australia, outside the sanitizing and bowdlerizing influence of the American Abolitionist movement. Jacobs's full account is a startling and clear expression of the true thoughts, words, and wide-ranging experiences of a man once enslaved"--
The death of Mrs. Hanablue, and the sale of her slaves at public auction -- The happy family, or practical Christianity -- Brutality and murder among slaves -- The different ways of punishing slaves -- My sister has run away, my aunt, two children, and myself sent to Gaol -- My fifth and last master -- Dr. Sawyer's death, his brother's election to Congress, and marriage, and my escape from him -- My voyage to the South seas, and the object of the voyage, my sister's escape, and our meeting -- The laws of the United States respecting slavery -- The agreement between the North and South at the adoption of the constitution -- The Declaration of American Independence, with interlineations of United States and state laws -- No longer yours: the lives of John Swanson Jacobs / Jonathan D.S. Schroeder. Prologue. Bondservants of liberty -- Toward a new grammar of justice -- The world my country -- Epilogue: Afterlives -- John Jacobs at first sight: notes on a frontispiece.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Keywords: Jacobs, John S., -- 1815-1875.; Jacobs, Harriet A. -- 1813-1897.; African Americans -- North Carolina -- Biography; Fugitive slaves -- North Carolina -- Biography; Enslaved persons -- North Carolina -- Biography; Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography; Slavery -- North Carolina; Slavery -- United States; Noirs américains -- Caroline du Nord -- Biographies; Esclaves fugitifs -- Caroline du Nord -- Biographies; Esclavage -- États-Unis.; Jacobs, Harriet A. -- 1813-1897; Jacobs, John S., -- 1815-1875; African Americans; Enslaved persons; Fugitive slaves; Slavery; North Carolina; United States; African Americans -- Biography; Slaves -- Biography; Slavery -- United States; autobiographies (literary works); Biographies; Autobiographies; Biographies; Autobiographies; Biographies