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Home/History/Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations.

Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations.

As the enslaved people started to gain some realization of their condition and abuse or even without realizing it, they employed different methods of resistance to their captors. Some ways are more subtle than, for example, Douglas fighting back physically against Convey’s attack and gruesome abuse. However, Douglas’ thought process and Convey’s reaction are telling.

Seeing the surprised response from Convey to his resistance to the attack, Douglas recounts how the enslaved people, “My resistance was so entirely unexpected that Covey seemed taken all aback”. After the fight, Convey did not attempt to punish Douglas due to his inability to overpower him physically and left him alone.

Moreover, Convey did not take him to the whipping post “for the crime of raising my hand against a white man in defense of myself”, showing his other fear of losing his reputation as a powerful enslaver. It showed him a shaky ground for his superiority over the enslaved people, which he preferred to ignore to save his reputation and peace of mind. It also emphasized the effect of the slave resistance not only on the working process but the mentality of their owners.

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Academic.Tips. (2023) 'Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations'. 29 May.

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Academic.Tips. (2023, May 29). Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations. https://academic.tips/question/historian-eric-foner-wrote-that-resistance-to-slavery-took-many-forms-in-the-old-south-from-individual-acts-of-defiance-to-occasional-uprisings-these-actions-posed-a-constant-challenge-to-t/

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Academic.Tips. 2023. "Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations." May 29, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/historian-eric-foner-wrote-that-resistance-to-slavery-took-many-forms-in-the-old-south-from-individual-acts-of-defiance-to-occasional-uprisings-these-actions-posed-a-constant-challenge-to-t/.

1. Academic.Tips. "Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations." May 29, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/historian-eric-foner-wrote-that-resistance-to-slavery-took-many-forms-in-the-old-south-from-individual-acts-of-defiance-to-occasional-uprisings-these-actions-posed-a-constant-challenge-to-t/.


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Academic.Tips. "Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations." May 29, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/historian-eric-foner-wrote-that-resistance-to-slavery-took-many-forms-in-the-old-south-from-individual-acts-of-defiance-to-occasional-uprisings-these-actions-posed-a-constant-challenge-to-t/.

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"Historian Eric Foner wrote that “Resistance to slavery took many forms in the Old South, from individual acts of defiance to occasional uprisings. These actions posed a constant challenge to the slaveholders’ self-image as benign paternalists”. Describe one method of slave resistance that Douglass addresses in his narrative and explain the role that slave resistance played on southern plantations." Academic.Tips, 29 May 2023, academic.tips/question/historian-eric-foner-wrote-that-resistance-to-slavery-took-many-forms-in-the-old-south-from-individual-acts-of-defiance-to-occasional-uprisings-these-actions-posed-a-constant-challenge-to-t/.

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In the final chapters of his narrative Douglass says, “I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason”. Support, refute, or qualify this statement using evidence from the book.
Historian Eric Foner wrote that even non-slaveholders played many roles in supporting systems of white supremacy and slavery. Describe one incident or conflict in the book where Douglass found his life negatively impacted by non-slave owners. Using this evidence explain how non-slaveholding whites were complicit in the perpetuation of slavery.
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