Reflection of The Fredrick Douglass Game:

 Today in class, we played a game called "The Fredrick Douglass Game." In this game we had an official town hall meeting where we stood in front of the class acting like a well known historical figure who was either against slavery or pro-slavery. Here is what I learned from the abolitionists side. 

I heard a lot from former slaves such as Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglass himself. In Fredrick's address he stated that slaves do not know their actual birthday because no one back then cared enough to know the birthdays of African Americans. I found this very sad that they have to pick a random day to actually be their birthday. Harriet Tubman claimed she was first sold when she was a mere five years old. To think kids that young kids were taken from their parents and put to work makes me sad to be from the south and that's our history. 

Another impactful aspect of the abolitionist movement is the writing of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This piece was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that practically made her a celebrity in the 1800s. This book revolutionized the abolitionist's movements. I really enjoyed hearing the story of why Harriet decided to make this book. She had a son who had died at an early age due to a fatal disease. After this happened, she then felt the same pain of the mothers whose kids got taken from them and put into slavery to get beaten or maybe even killed. This book changed thousands of lives and some even claim it started the civil war.

One of the speeches that stuck with me the most was the speech from Sojourner Truth. Her story was very meaningful and really connected the audience to her feelings. She stated that her kids were taken away from her and she never knew them. I tried to imagine what that we be like if I were in her shoes, and I can't. No person should have to go through that. She then said that her owner had abused and raped her many times before. Knowing that she has been through all of these things and slavery itself, I think it is an amazing accomplishment how much of an impact she ended up having on America as an abolitionist and a women's rights activist.