A handbill promoting Joice Heth c. 1835.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nSlaves suffered appalling conditions; they were dehumanized as the \u201cinferior\u201d race and thus viewed as not deserving of the unalienable rights established in the Declaration of Independence. \u00a0Instead, they were considered property and had no say\u00a0 as to what happened to them or their families. Similarly, freaks often were involuntarily placed in circuses and side shows to act as entertainment for others who were considered \u201cnormal.\u201d \u00a0For those within the \u201csupreme\u201d race, slaves and freaks alike were simply \u201cbodies, without the humanity social structures confer upon more ordinary people\u201d (Thomson 57). \u00a0As long as these \u201cunordinary heathens\u201d could be used in some \u201cuseful\u201d way, their masters rarely considered the people underneath the \u201cabnormal\u201d surface. \u00a0Because slaves and freaks were viewed as inhuman, the \u201csuperior\u201d race did not believe that they experienced emotions like other humans would, but were either unaware or did not care what was happening to them. \u00a0In freak shows, \u201c exoticized disabled people and people of color functioned as physical opposites of the idealized American\u201d (Thomson 65).<\/p>\n
Because of the interesting anomalies that their bodies represented, slaves and freaks were often used as entertainment for their owners which resulted in their masters\u2019 monetary profit. Douglass mentions in his narrative that slave-owners enjoyed spending Sundays watching their slaves box or wrestle, both for their own enjoyment and so the slaves did not participate in more \u201ccivilized\u201d activities (Douglass 372). During these matches, slave-owners watched their slaves beat each other as if they were voluntarily participating in the sport. It was the common misperception that because of slaves\u2019 differences in appearance, they were not fully human, but may be the missing link between humans and animals; this arose from\u00a0the idea that African Americans were barbaric animals and not civilized human beings. Because society was so interested in discovering this connection between man and beast, they were willing to view African Americans as a combination of man and animal–a combination that favored animalistic characteristics. Some even classified African Americans as monsters due to their uncivilized similarities to animals. \u00a0This connection to monsters refers back to the original meaning of the word which shares a root word with \u201cdemonstrate\u201d–a term that can be translated as \u201cto show\u201d (Thomson 56). \u00a0\u00a0 So because of this, like many others who were not considered \u201cnormal,\u201d millions of African Americans in the Civil War era were subjected to the harsh realities of what it meant to be diverse.<\/p>\n
Outside of the required strenuous physical labor, slaves also faced the possibility of being slashed by a whip, chased by bloodhounds, or branded like cattle\u2014sometimes just for their owners\u2019 pleasure (Jacobs 244). Masters used this treatment as a way to prove their \u201cnormalcy\u201d and superiority over their slaves by showing that they possessed the power and the slaves did not. Spectators at freak shows also often either ogled at the performers or would need to physically touch them in some way, whether that be by poking them with a stick or pinching their skin, to further prove these \u201cfreaks\u201d deviation from the accepted norm.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, Africans and African Americans were forced to be both slaves and freaks, put on display for others\u2019 entertainment, much like Saartjie Baartman in Britain. \u00a0In 1810, a young African woman\u2019s father and husband were slaughtered by a European army, and she was kidnapped and dragged to Britain to act as entertainment for the masses (Elkins). \u00a0Simply because of the size of her posterior and skin color, Baartman was displayed in front of hundreds of passers-by and could be poked with a stick (Frith). \u00a0Even after her death in 1815, Baartman could not be left in peace as her body was subjected to Georges L\u00e9opold Chr\u00e9tien Cuvier\u2019s sexualized dissection, which was later put on display at the Museum of Man in Paris (Elkins, Frith). \u00a0Not until years later was Baartman allowed to finally rest in peace, as she was given an appropriate burial like she originally deserved. \u00a0Even in her death, Baartman could not achieve peace like others, but a death filled with entertainment for humans much like animal dissections are used as some sort of entertainment.<\/p>\n
Instances such as these gave those in Civil War America the justification they so desperately sought for their heinous actions towards \u201cdifferent\u201d individuals. For white Americans, Baartman\u2019s mistreatment represented slavery\u2019s potential. Since freaks and slaves alike were not considered whole human beings, their owners viewed enslavement as permission to use their \u201cproperty\u201d as they saw fit<\/p>\n
Americans even went onto having their own Saartjie Baartman in 1935 with P.T. Barnum\u2019s purchase of Joice Heth (Thomson 59). Heth, a blind and crippled African American elderly woman, was put on display in Philadelphia as a representation of what America should strive not<\/em> to be physically. Heth was also used as an example for \u201cproper\u201d women to reference in order to \u201csharpen the distinction between the ideal Englishwoman and her physical and cultural opposite\u201d (Thomson 56). \u00a0While this display of Heth and her \u201cfreakish\u201d body warned American society about what is \u201cabnormal,\u201d it also stripped Heth of any ounce of humanity that she held. Because she was put on display as a \u201cfreak\u201d of nature, Heth became solely what her body represented and not the person that she truly was. Much of slavery can be connected to masters\u2019 infatuation with the \u201cabnormal\u201d characteristics of the slave\u2019s body. \u00a0In an explanation of what the freak show presents to its consumers, Thomson states that society\u2019s obsession with physicality \u201cdescended from a tradition of reading the extraordinary body that can be traced back to the earliest human representation\u201d (56). \u00a0Therefore, slaves and freaks were used as entertainment for their masters based on the way in which their bodies deviated from the \u201cnorm.\u201d \u00a0Furthermore, as with the death of Baartman, Heth was also publicly dissected by David L. Rogers following her death in 1836 (Thomson 60). Even in death, Heth was nothing more than an interesting \u201cabnormality\u201d to the white American public. Her life was not of enough importance to give her an appropriate burial, let alone life, because of the entertainment that her body provided.<\/p>\nAs history progressed, African Americans witnessed exactly what it meant to be different. For Booker T. Washington, staying at a hotel for a night after their coach breaking down was an arduous task, one which resulted in sleeping under an elevated sidewalk in the midst of winter (566). Instances like this occurred despite millions of slaves and freaks involuntarily sacrificing blood, sweat, happiness, and a livelihood to their masters. \u00a0And despite surrendering all of those things, many African Americans and people with disabilities still faced discrimination. \u00a0Throughout the decades, \u201cabnormal\u201d people constantly asked, \u201cYour country? How came it yours?\u201d (DuBois 758). Slaves as young as six were forced to see themselves as not deserving of the same life and opportunities as the white children they played with. Girls as young as ten were subjected to being put on display due to their \u201clarger than life\u201d entertainment value. \u00a0A difference in appearance segregated a world and generated generations of resentment. This animosity has dwindled over the years, but it unfortunately has never completely faded. Its presence is forever felt in actions, words, and movements\u2014the concept of \u201cfreakishness\u201d will continue to exist within those who fail to see difference does not signify inequality.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Works Cited:<\/p>\n
Douglass, Frederick. \u00a0\u201cNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.<\/em> Vol. 1. 3rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New<\/p>\nYork: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0326-393. Print.<\/p>\n
DuBois, W.E.B. \u00a0\u201cThe Souls of Black Folk.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature<\/em>. \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0687-760.<\/p>\nPrint.<\/p>\n
Elkins, Caroline. \u00a0\u201cA Life Exposed.\u201d \u00a0New York Times<\/em>. \u00a0New York Times, 14 Jan. 2007. \u00a0Web.<\/p>\n12 Feb. 2016.<\/p>\n
Frith, Susan. \u00a0\u201cSearching for Sara Baartman.\u201d \u00a0John Hopkins Magazine<\/em>. \u00a0John Hopkins<\/p>\nUniversity, June 2009. \u00a0Web. \u00a012 Feb. 2016.<\/p>\n
Jacobs, Harriet. \u00a0\u201cIncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African<\/em><\/p>\nAmerican Literature<\/em>. \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014.<\/p>\n221-261. \u00a0Print.<\/p>\n
Thomson, Rosemarie Garland. \u00a0Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature and Culture.<\/em> New York: Columbia UP, 1997. \u00a0Print.<\/p>\nWashington, Booker T. \u00a0\u201cUp From Slavery.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature.<\/em> \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0548-572.<\/p>\nPrint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Brittany Ulman It is well-known that, under slavery, African Americans faced harsh living conditions. \u00a0But, as slaves, they also endured the mental abuse associated with society viewing them as other to a white norm. \u00a0Because of dehumanizing racist views, they were even sometimes classified as \u201cfreaks\u201d and put on display, like Saartjie Baartman was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[328,264,329,330,124],"class_list":["post-839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-civil-war","tag-freak-shows","tag-joice-heth","tag-saartje-baartman","tag-slavery"],"yoast_head":"\n
Bodies in Bondage: Slavery and Entertainment in the Civil War Era - The Digital Literature Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bodies in Bondage: Slavery and Entertainment in the Civil War Era - The Digital Literature Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brittany Ulman It is well-known that, under slavery, African Americans faced harsh living conditions. \u00a0But, as slaves, they also endured the mental abuse associated with society viewing them as other to a white norm. \u00a0Because of dehumanizing racist views, they were even sometimes classified as \u201cfreaks\u201d and put on display, like Saartjie Baartman was […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Digital Literature Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-19T03:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bsudlr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bsudlr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bsudlr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/#\/schema\/person\/dbdfd204803a40c0c244970784e8cd42\"},\"headline\":\"Bodies in Bondage: Slavery and Entertainment in the Civil War Era\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-19T03:25:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\"},\"wordCount\":1517,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"American Civil War\",\"freak shows\",\"Joice Heth\",\"Saartje Baartman\",\"slavery\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/dlr\/2016\/04\/18\/bodies-in-bondage-slavery-and-entertainment-in-the-civil-war-era\/\",\"name\":\"Bodies in Bondage: Slavery and Entertainment in the Civil War Era - 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![A handbill promoting Joice Heth c. 1835.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nSlaves suffered appalling conditions; they were dehumanized as the \u201cinferior\u201d race and thus viewed as not deserving of the unalienable rights established in the Declaration of Independence. \u00a0Instead, they were considered property and had no say\u00a0 as to what happened to them or their families. Similarly, freaks often were involuntarily placed in circuses and side shows to act as entertainment for others who were considered \u201cnormal.\u201d \u00a0For those within the \u201csupreme\u201d race, slaves and freaks alike were simply \u201cbodies, without the humanity social structures confer upon more ordinary people\u201d (Thomson 57). \u00a0As long as these \u201cunordinary heathens\u201d could be used in some \u201cuseful\u201d way, their masters rarely considered the people underneath the \u201cabnormal\u201d surface. \u00a0Because slaves and freaks were viewed as inhuman, the \u201csuperior\u201d race did not believe that they experienced emotions like other humans would, but were either unaware or did not care what was happening to them. \u00a0In freak shows, \u201c exoticized disabled people and people of color functioned as physical opposites of the idealized American\u201d (Thomson 65).<\/p>\nBecause of the interesting anomalies that their bodies represented, slaves and freaks were often used as entertainment for their owners which resulted in their masters\u2019 monetary profit. Douglass mentions in his narrative that slave-owners enjoyed spending Sundays watching their slaves box or wrestle, both for their own enjoyment and so the slaves did not participate in more \u201ccivilized\u201d activities (Douglass 372). During these matches, slave-owners watched their slaves beat each other as if they were voluntarily participating in the sport. It was the common misperception that because of slaves\u2019 differences in appearance, they were not fully human, but may be the missing link between humans and animals; this arose from\u00a0the idea that African Americans were barbaric animals and not civilized human beings. Because society was so interested in discovering this connection between man and beast, they were willing to view African Americans as a combination of man and animal–a combination that favored animalistic characteristics. Some even classified African Americans as monsters due to their uncivilized similarities to animals. \u00a0This connection to monsters refers back to the original meaning of the word which shares a root word with \u201cdemonstrate\u201d–a term that can be translated as \u201cto show\u201d (Thomson 56). \u00a0\u00a0 So because of this, like many others who were not considered \u201cnormal,\u201d millions of African Americans in the Civil War era were subjected to the harsh realities of what it meant to be diverse.<\/p>\nOutside of the required strenuous physical labor, slaves also faced the possibility of being slashed by a whip, chased by bloodhounds, or branded like cattle\u2014sometimes just for their owners\u2019 pleasure (Jacobs 244). Masters used this treatment as a way to prove their \u201cnormalcy\u201d and superiority over their slaves by showing that they possessed the power and the slaves did not. Spectators at freak shows also often either ogled at the performers or would need to physically touch them in some way, whether that be by poking them with a stick or pinching their skin, to further prove these \u201cfreaks\u201d deviation from the accepted norm.<\/p>\nSometimes, Africans and African Americans were forced to be both slaves and freaks, put on display for others\u2019 entertainment, much like Saartjie Baartman in Britain. \u00a0In 1810, a young African woman\u2019s father and husband were slaughtered by a European army, and she was kidnapped and dragged to Britain to act as entertainment for the masses (Elkins). \u00a0Simply because of the size of her posterior and skin color, Baartman was displayed in front of hundreds of passers-by and could be poked with a stick (Frith). \u00a0Even after her death in 1815, Baartman could not be left in peace as her body was subjected to Georges L\u00e9opold Chr\u00e9tien Cuvier\u2019s sexualized dissection, which was later put on display at the Museum of Man in Paris (Elkins, Frith). \u00a0Not until years later was Baartman allowed to finally rest in peace, as she was given an appropriate burial like she originally deserved. \u00a0Even in her death, Baartman could not achieve peace like others, but a death filled with entertainment for humans much like animal dissections are used as some sort of entertainment.<\/p>\nInstances such as these gave those in Civil War America the justification they so desperately sought for their heinous actions towards \u201cdifferent\u201d individuals. For white Americans, Baartman\u2019s mistreatment represented slavery\u2019s potential. Since freaks and slaves alike were not considered whole human beings, their owners viewed enslavement as permission to use their \u201cproperty\u201d as they saw fit<\/p>\nAmericans even went onto having their own Saartjie Baartman in 1935 with P.T. Barnum\u2019s purchase of Joice Heth (Thomson 59). Heth, a blind and crippled African American elderly woman, was put on display in Philadelphia as a representation of what America should strive not<\/em> to be physically. Heth was also used as an example for \u201cproper\u201d women to reference in order to \u201csharpen the distinction between the ideal Englishwoman and her physical and cultural opposite\u201d (Thomson 56). \u00a0While this display of Heth and her \u201cfreakish\u201d body warned American society about what is \u201cabnormal,\u201d it also stripped Heth of any ounce of humanity that she held. Because she was put on display as a \u201cfreak\u201d of nature, Heth became solely what her body represented and not the person that she truly was. Much of slavery can be connected to masters\u2019 infatuation with the \u201cabnormal\u201d characteristics of the slave\u2019s body. \u00a0In an explanation of what the freak show presents to its consumers, Thomson states that society\u2019s obsession with physicality \u201cdescended from a tradition of reading the extraordinary body that can be traced back to the earliest human representation\u201d (56). \u00a0Therefore, slaves and freaks were used as entertainment for their masters based on the way in which their bodies deviated from the \u201cnorm.\u201d \u00a0Furthermore, as with the death of Baartman, Heth was also publicly dissected by David L. Rogers following her death in 1836 (Thomson 60). Even in death, Heth was nothing more than an interesting \u201cabnormality\u201d to the white American public. Her life was not of enough importance to give her an appropriate burial, let alone life, because of the entertainment that her body provided.<\/p>\nAs history progressed, African Americans witnessed exactly what it meant to be different. For Booker T. Washington, staying at a hotel for a night after their coach breaking down was an arduous task, one which resulted in sleeping under an elevated sidewalk in the midst of winter (566). Instances like this occurred despite millions of slaves and freaks involuntarily sacrificing blood, sweat, happiness, and a livelihood to their masters. \u00a0And despite surrendering all of those things, many African Americans and people with disabilities still faced discrimination. \u00a0Throughout the decades, \u201cabnormal\u201d people constantly asked, \u201cYour country? How came it yours?\u201d (DuBois 758). Slaves as young as six were forced to see themselves as not deserving of the same life and opportunities as the white children they played with. Girls as young as ten were subjected to being put on display due to their \u201clarger than life\u201d entertainment value. \u00a0A difference in appearance segregated a world and generated generations of resentment. This animosity has dwindled over the years, but it unfortunately has never completely faded. Its presence is forever felt in actions, words, and movements\u2014the concept of \u201cfreakishness\u201d will continue to exist within those who fail to see difference does not signify inequality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nWorks Cited:<\/p>\nDouglass, Frederick. \u00a0\u201cNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.<\/em> Vol. 1. 3rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New<\/p>\nYork: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0326-393. Print.<\/p>\nDuBois, W.E.B. \u00a0\u201cThe Souls of Black Folk.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature<\/em>. \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0687-760.<\/p>\nPrint.<\/p>\nElkins, Caroline. \u00a0\u201cA Life Exposed.\u201d \u00a0New York Times<\/em>. \u00a0New York Times, 14 Jan. 2007. \u00a0Web.<\/p>\n12 Feb. 2016.<\/p>\nFrith, Susan. \u00a0\u201cSearching for Sara Baartman.\u201d \u00a0John Hopkins Magazine<\/em>. \u00a0John Hopkins<\/p>\nUniversity, June 2009. \u00a0Web. \u00a012 Feb. 2016.<\/p>\nJacobs, Harriet. \u00a0\u201cIncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African<\/em><\/p>\nAmerican Literature<\/em>. \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014.<\/p>\n221-261. \u00a0Print.<\/p>\nThomson, Rosemarie Garland. \u00a0Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature and Culture.<\/em> New York: Columbia UP, 1997. \u00a0Print.<\/p>\nWashington, Booker T. \u00a0\u201cUp From Slavery.\u201d \u00a0The Norton Anthology of African American<\/em><\/p>\nLiterature.<\/em> \u00a0Vol. 1. \u00a03rd<\/sup> ed. \u00a0New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014. \u00a0548-572.<\/p>\nPrint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Brittany Ulman It is well-known that, under slavery, African Americans faced harsh living conditions. \u00a0But, as slaves, they also endured the mental abuse associated with society viewing them as other to a white norm. \u00a0Because of dehumanizing racist views, they were even sometimes classified as \u201cfreaks\u201d and put on display, like Saartjie Baartman was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[328,264,329,330,124],"class_list":["post-839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-civil-war","tag-freak-shows","tag-joice-heth","tag-saartje-baartman","tag-slavery"],"yoast_head":"\nBodies in Bondage: Slavery and Entertainment in the Civil War Era - 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