Intro/Claim:
1.
Freedom is the core of American beliefs. The quest for freedom shaped the foundation of
America and the resulting history. There are many types of freedom ranging from freedom of speech to
freedom of religion to freedom to assembly. Overall, freedom is the right to freewill. An individual is
not bound to serve another person. The individual is free to make their own choices and do what they
desire. During colonial times in the southern colonies, a social hierarchy existed. While the
qualifications for each category depended on wealth and importance, it also relied on each categories
extent of freedom. Ranging from the least free to most free, were slaves, indenture servants, white
women, and white landowning men. Each of these social castes experienced different extents of
freedom.
2.
In the early Colonial America, freedom in the colonies was a major issue. Although it seemed
that a person’s extent of freedom depended on their social rank, multiple sources from people living
during this time support that freedom centered around the race and occupation of that person. After
analyzing primary sources from four different types of people, a white male planter, a white woman, a
white indentured servant, and a black male slave, the similarities and differences in their life
experiences show us how their freedom differs. It is evident that the amount of freedom someone
obtained in the south during Colonial America depended on their race and occupation.
3.
The lives of people in southern colonial America were varied differently between freedoms and
social classes. William Byrd, a wealthy white planter, had all the freedoms while people live Olaudah
Equiano, Mrs. Lucy Byrd, and Richard Frethorne had little to no freedom. Equiano was a black male
slave who wrote about his brutal adventure through the Atlantic, while figuring out he was to become a
slave. Mrs. Lucy Bird and the unknown woman of an old English tune are white women, who barely
had any freedoms and were abused by their husbands. Frethorne was a white indentured servant who
sent three letters to his parents about his undesirable living way. William Byrd compared to Equiano,
Lucy Byrd, and Frethorne lived a completely different life, with many luxuries and freedoms.
4.
Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or
restraint. Today, the United States grants everyone the privilege of freedom. However, there was a
time when slavery was prevalent and only certain types of people were capable of doing as they
pleased. In southern Colonial America, freedom was not widespread, but given to only white land
owners. The majority of the population of the south came from indentured servants and black slaves.
The stories of Oladuah Equiano, William and Lucy Byrd, and Richard Frethorne differ significantly in
terms of freedom. However, all four people shared a common goal: the pursuit of happiness, wealth,
and opportunity.
5.
English colonists came to America in pursuit of property, wealth, and new opportunity. Many
came to escape England’s rigid social hierarchy with the hopes of becoming an affluent member of
society. But with the recovery of personal documents from southern colonists of the time, evidence
shows that a strict social code existed in the New World as well—governing the freedoms of its
populous. Colonial American freedom was governed by gender, race, wealth, and occupation and
degrees of freedom fluxuated as a result of these factors. It is undisputedly evident that white landowning males possessed the most freedom followed by white, male indentured servants and black,
Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 3:43 PM
Comment [1]: Nice job introducing everything and coming to a specific claim with reasoning. Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 6:38 PM
Comment [2]: “like”? Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 6:38 PM
Comment [3]: Nice job introducing the figures and establishing a category by which you will organize your comparison (Byrd’s status). Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 7:28 PM
Comment [4]: Nicely recognized. Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 8:01 PM
Comment [5]: Nicely developed claim that gives your comparison an organized direction. Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 8:41 PM
Comment [6]: Fluctuated Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 8:41 PM
Comment [7]: Very nicely developed claim. male slaves and seated unjustly beneath each of them, their female counterparts with even fewer
liberties. 6.
Freedom in Colonial America was hard to come by for several people and was a big struggle
for slaves, indentured servants, and wives of white men. White men were for the most part more free
and wealthy than the wives of these men and the slaves that they owned. Olaudah Equiano who was a
black male slave, William Byrd who was a wealthy white planter, The Woman Outwitted who was a
white woman, and Richard Frethorne who was an indentured servant show what it was like to live
during this time period and give great examples on how people were treated. They also show how
white men were freer than their wives, slaves and indentured servants.
7.
There was a much defined ranking status during the colonially times due to freedom and rights.
The white men who owned land were given the most liberties which included buy slaves and
indentured servants and telling their wives what to do. Next, was their wives who were given the right
to tell the slave and servants what to do. After, came the indentured servants who were mostly white
men who could not afford land of their own. And finally the slaves were given the least amount of
freedom, as they were bought for a lifetime of hard work. Many white men and woman took their
rights to command others to an extreme like the Byrd family who treated their slaves and servants
poorly, yet there was nothing th slaves and servants could do, due to their limitations.
Comparison:
1.
To begin with, the category with the most privileges was white male landowners; William Byrd
is a perfect example of this. When Byrd writes, “I said my prayers devoutly” (Byrd) in his diary it
displays his amount of religious freedom. While this may seem normal to modern day society,
religious freedom was not a privilege for most. Not only does Byrd state that he says his prayers, but
later on in his diary we often writes that he neglects to say his prayers. This, again, is an example of
religious freedom. William Byrd also had much control over his wife, Lucy, and had the freedom to
treat her whatever way he pleased. Byrd states in his diary, “My wife and I had another scold…it was
soon over by her submission” (Byrd). Not only does this reveal that William Byrd had excessive
freedom, but it gives the readers a glimpse into the life and freedom of a white woman in southern
colonial America. White women, while not as persecuted as slaves and indentured servants, had little
to no freedom. By the end of William Byrd’s diary, Lucy Bird, his wife, has become so sick of the
treatment she received from her husband that she threatened to kill herself. Her husband, however,
seemed quite indifferent about his wife’s threats. He often writes that his wife would beg his pardon
and submit to him; showing that white women in this time period had virtually no freedom or authority
over their husbands.
Furthermore, indentured servants and African American slaves were on the low end of social
class and had basically no privileges and/or freedom. Richard Frethone, a white indentured servant
writes, “And when we were sick there is nothing to comfort us…I never ate anything but peas…”
(Frethone). This excerpt from Frethone’s writings release to the audience that indentured servants has
no comfort or choice in what they ate. This is contrary to William Byrd who writes, “I ate roast mutton
for dinner” (Byrd) which divulges Byrd’s ability and privilege to choose what he eats each night. Both
the writings of Frethorne, a white indentured servant, and Equiano, a black male slave, discuss the odor
of where they were kept and the little to no comfort they had. Equiano states, “I was soon put down
Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 10:59 AM
Comment [8]: This is a nicely developed introduction where you show the important factors that determined variations of freedom and introduced the categories you will focus on. Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 6:35 PM
Comment [9]: Just “colonial” Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 6:35 PM
Comment [10]: While this could probably benefit form rewording, as an introduction in a timed-­‐writing setting, you do a nice job discussing the various positions and describing the factors that differentiated people. under the decks with the loathsome stench and crying together… I now wished for the last friend,
death, to relieve me” (Equiano). It is made obvious by Equiano’s vulgar description of where he was
kept and the fact that he wished to die that life was not pleasant for black slaves and that freedom was
just a dream of theirs. Overall, indentured servants and black slaves had little to no freedom in
southern colonial America.
2.
William Byrd was a wealthy white planter that seemingly lived a decent life. Throughout his
secret diary entries, he commonly mentions how he has good health and good thoughts, and thanks
God for rewarding him for the life he is living. It is evident through his words that he was more
fortunate than others and had an abundance of freedom in comparison to the servants and slaves.
While the lower class were scrounging for a proper meal, William would say, “I said my prayers
devoutly and ate milk for breakfast (Byrd)”. William also discusses drinking cider and eating many
diverse foods. William even had servants of his own that he and his wife, Mrs. Lucy Byrd, would
order around. Based on William’s secret diary, it always appeared that he was superior to his wife. He
would openly cheat on her in front of her own eyes and even suggested she starved herself to prevent a
miscarriage. He often mentions arguing with his wife because he would not allow her to do what she
pleased. He tried to maintain his authority, whether it was over bossing around the servants or
something as petty as “pulling her brows (Byrd)”.
Lucy may have been controlled by her husband, but her situation was not as bad as other
woman during this time period. Husbands would sell their wives and send them off to Virginia for the
sole purpose of making money. The primary source states, referring to a lady, “cunningly catch’d her
in a trap, by her husband, who sold her for ten pounds and sent her to Virginny (Woman)”. These
wives were sent away with no idea of what their futures held. They were tricked into thinking that life
would be better after their trip, when in reality, they would never return from their voyage. Although
Lucy Byrd could not live her life the way she desired to, at least her own husband did not dispose of
her for money.
3.
To start with, being prosperous was a big deciding factor on whether or not an individual had
much independence. If one had much money, they must have a beneficial job, which is how
occupation and wealth are interconnected with each other. For example, a wealthy white planter, such
as William Byrd, and an Indentured Servant, such as Richard Frethorne, did not share the same
amount of privilege in southern America. In William Byrd’s secret journal he states, “…ate milk for
breakfast…I ate dry beef for dinner, and chicken. While we were at dinner Captain M-r-n came with
some more letters. He brought me some goods for my wife, to an extravagant value.” This quote shows
the relaxed and glorious life style William has, eating wonderful meals, receiving gifts for his wife, etc.
He has much freedom. Richard Frethorne does not have such a brilliant day. In his letter he says,
“..most work hard both early and late for a mess of water gruel and mouthful of bread and beef.”
William has enough freedom to have a marvelous dinner and Richard works all day and late into the
evening for just a little bit of food and water. Henceforth, independence is determined by the factor of
wealth and occupation.
4.
The secret diary of a wealthy Virginia planter, William Byrd, demonstrates varying degrees of
freedom between upper-class white men and women of the early colonial period. One can infer from
Byrd’s diary that a woman was only as free as her husband, her success and wealth defined by his.
While Byrd is seemingly free to go about his business as he pleases, Lucy must ask for his permission
and validation for something as trivial as pulling/plucking her eyebrows: “She threatened she would
Joe Dwyer 10/4/14 8:53 PM
Comment [11]: Nice job with conducting your comparison in such a way. Joe Dwyer 10/4/14 9:04 PM
Comment [12]: This is a great job. You take two people of the same race (which you should have pointed out) who are in significantly different places because of wealth. You also show this with specific evidence from the text. Nice work. not go to Williamsburg if she might not pull them; I refused, however, and got the better of her, and
maintained my authority.” (Byrd) Peppered through his diary are his various events and arguments in
which Byrd triumphs because he forces Lucy into submission, “My wife and I had another scold about
mending my shoes but it was soon over by her submission.” (Byrd) At one point in Byrd’s diary he
mentions that Lucy punishes a slave named Jenny against his will, undermining any of her authority
over the slaves. Another document that offers insight into men’s treatment and views of women is a
popular song of the time—“The Woman Outwitted”. The song tells of a husband who proceeds to sell
his wife to a merchant on his way to Virginia. One particular line reads, “She is good Merchandize you
know,” (Broadside) indicating that women, specifically wives, were viewed as property and has little
say in their lives once they were married. Virginia’s white, land-owning male, of which Byrd was one,
seemed to have unrestricted patriarchal power. 5.
Similar to Richard, Olaudah Equiano, a black slave, lived a life controlled entirely by others.
However, Equiano experienced the most suffering of the different social classes. While one can find
many freedoms throughout Lucy’s life and some throughout Richard’s as well, Olaudah, a black slave,
had nothing. There was no freedom throughout the life of a black slave; you did what was told of you
to do. Throughout his account of when he crosses the Atlantic, Equiano recounts the horrors he
experienced. Slaves were forced to eat; if they did not they would be flogged severely. All of one’s life
on the ship was controlled by those who owned them. However, the situation did not improve in
Virginia. Once there, the slaves were taken off of the ship and “pent up together like sheep”, as
Equiano himself describes it. (Equiano) Then they proceeded to be bought by plantation owners, and
worked on the plantations until the inevitable death of a slave or, in Equiano’s case, rare freedom.
Joe Dwyer 10/5/14 8:44 PM
Comment [13]: Excellent job using evidence to build your comparison. Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 6:18 PM
Comment [14]: Give an example for comparison’s sake. Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 6:18 PM
Comment [15]: Strong sentence. Joe Dwyer 10/6/14 6:18 PM
Comment [16]: Awkward.