Tempe Herndon Durham
By: Olivia Bobak and Darian Patterson
The Effect of Enslavement on Descendants
The effect that enslavement put on Tempe was that she was put to hard work for so long that she forgot all about her past. This is proven with the quote "Is'e been here so long dat I done forgot near 'bout as much as dese here new generation knows or ever gwine know."
Tempe's Relationship With her Slavemasters
Tempe had two slavemasters, actually. They were a married couple. According to Tempe, they were like the mom and dad she never had, since it is safe to assume she does not remember her parents.
How Slavery Effected White People
Well, to give an example, one of the slavemasters of Tempe, "Mis Besty", tended to dress like her slaves would be dressed, which could partially be seen as she believed in a sense of equality with the slaves when it comes to minor things like clothing.
How Slave Laws Changed Over Time
According to Tempe, she says that "Freedom is all right". She also claimed that the slaves were better off in their life before these times of slavery. Back in the beginning of her service of being a slave, if a slave were to act sassy of some sort, they'd get whipped. During the War, Tempe and her slavemates got to eat all they want as they were shooting the guns as well.
The Aspects Of Slavery Shown By Freed Slaves
Tempe says some aspects of slavery in her narrative. She says that slavery was not TOO bad for her, since she has a nice wedding during her slavery. Although, there were points that were not enjoyed, like having to work with dyeing fabrics and also shooting guns in the War later on.
How A Free Or Slave State Was Determined
Usually, if there is a large amount of people that can be considered as slaves in the state, that is a Slave State. Some states had rights to have people not be slaves, and some did not. Tempe said that once she and her slavemates were released to be free, they basically still lived on one of their Slavemaster's land, since they seem to have claimed it as home.