PasteThe book, Celia, a Slave, written by Melton A. McLaurin provides insight on the injustice of enslaved people during the antebellum period focusing mostly on women. It is a work of nonfiction that the author uses to provide context on the unfair treatment of slaves while giving the example of a real case. McLaurin demonstrates the helplessness enslaved women felt when owned by a harsh man. Many enslaved women during this time period had to face the abusive nature of their owners alone which included all sexual, physical, and emotional. Even though the constitution stated that everyone was free and equal, this did not include enslaved people. McLaurin goes through the trial of Celia which was around the same time as people began to fight over the rights of slaves. Though the justice of Celia was not accomplished, her story is a reminder of all the hardships a woman that was enslaved had to face while having little to no support. McLaurin successfully argues that morals are no longer applied in courts when an enslaved woman such as Celia is arguing her case of social injustice and assault.
The whole point of the story is to teach of the time white, privileged men basically reigned the world, “Celia’s relationship with Robert Newsom provides a compelling, if hardly unique, example of the power of the white patriarch,” (McLaurin 137). The author states this because of the fact that Celia’s owner could easily get away with anything he did to her by the notion of her being his property. A white male could easily control his enslaved women, and it was seen as normal. McLaurin provides a compelling story of a fourteen-year-old girl who was continuously raped and finally did something about it in the act of self-defense. He follows her trial all the way up to her execution. The author does so by organizing his book as the timeline of events occurring with a slave named Celia from Callaway County, Missouri. He first starts out by introducing the main topic of the book and then follows with the events as they occur in history. The murder happens first and is followed by the trial of Celia. Next comes the story of her escape followed by her return and retrial. The book ends with her facing her death and being hanged. However, in the middle, the author stops and provides information of what is occurring in history at that time. He illustrates that legislature and other important people were trying to expand slavery. This leads to a tangent on protests and disagreements of that time. He relates it to Celia by expressing how big of a problem slavery is becoming at this point in history and how it is gaining more and more attention. McLaurin argues that slave owners felt it was their right to treat their slaves as they want no matter how morally wrong. This led to bias in the court room to slave owners because most everyone agreed that slaves were property, and their owners were free to do as they please with them. They did not feel it was wrong because it was so common. The author claims,” While it is possible that Newsom harbored some moral ambiguity about slave ownership, it is far more likely that he regarded it as a fitting reward for his years of labor, an indication of the social status he had achieved through his own efforts.” (McLaurin 10). This quote further demonstrates the power white men felt they had just by acquiring some sort of status in life. They continued to use female slaves as they pleased and felt no moral obligation otherwise. Also, McLaurin mentions some found it to be a part of their religious rights. The author focuses on gender and how female slaves were mistreated. He also explains that white women were fine with the abuse by their husbands to slaves because they were also included as property of their husband.
Overall, the book seems to do a pretty good job at arguing its point while telling the detailed story of Celia. The author covers the events with dignity while explaining the gruesome happenings. One of the positives of this story is that it also covered what was happening in America at the same time as the trial. This gave the book a bigger perspective especially when it covered all of its grounds. The author provides the current events which helps give his readers a timeline to follow, “As she waited through the summer heat, the citizens of Callaway and Missouri who would conduct her trial and determine her fate were being drawn into, yet another emotionally charged debate over slavery and its future in the neighboring Kansas Territory,” (McLaurin 62). This gave the book a wider perspective and showed how big of a problem slavery was beginning to become. It was transitioning over into other states and by providing those details the author emphasized the growing conflict. One of the negatives of this book would be that the author did not have much information on how she managed to kill her owner nor how she escaped from jail. He did not provide enough information on how she escaped nor who could have possibly aided her. McLaurin writes,” They acknowledged that she ‘was taken out by someone,’ although they gave no indication of who that someone might have been.” (123). This leaves holes in the story by not providing facts. It makes the whole story seem vague by not confirming any details about her escape. It kind of loses its credibility if anything.
This was a very good book when wanting to learn more about enslaved African women in the antebellum period. It teaches the hardships they went through by showing a real-life experience adding to the harsh effect of reality. The argument that white men could get away with anything over an enslaved black is proven through this court case. This book allows its readers to understand how slaves were considered property of their owners and how little of a voice they were given. Overall, when wanting a better understanding of the miseries enslaved women went through, pick up this book and learn about a different time in history.