The Accidental Slave-owner: Revisiting a Myth and Finding an American Family

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The Accidental Slave-owner: Revisiting a Myth of Race and Finding an American Family

Mark Auslander writes the story of a slave and her owner in his book The Accidental Slave-owner: Revisiting a Myth of Race and Finding an American Family. Catherine Boyd of Miss Kitty has one of the most controversial tales in slave history. Whites and African Americans tell her story differently. Miss Kitty was owned by a Christian minister, something that elicited controversy at the time. Ministers were not expected to be slave owners since this meant that they acted contrary to what they taught. While many white people believe that Miss Kitty chose to remain a slave out of loyalty, the African American community believes that Miss Kitty was one of the unfortunate slaves who did not have a chance to be free. They believe that she remained as a mistress to her owners. Hers is a story that led to major church controversies and divisions. In this book, Auslander tells the story of many other slaves, some of who never made it in history books and others who have remained forgotten through the years.

Auslander recounts and traces the lives of many families in the book. As one reads the book, he or she is able to trace part of the country’s history. The book describes how the slaves were treated at the time. They were seen as properties, even by those who treated them ‘well’. Some of the slave owners, who were seen as considerate and kind, chose to pass them on and include them in their wills, just as one would leave part of his property. They were passed on from one slave owner to the other and they were sold depending on their worth. The slaves were seen as part of a business transaction. They were meant to make profit and ensure growth for the owner. They were seen as investments, which are expected to bring in returns after some time. The slave owners expected the slaves to bear children, who would in turn be slaves in the household. Auslander has recounted this in his book. By telling the story, he has related this mythology to the country’s history.

Slaves were not regarded highly by the white people. Slaves of mixed origin or mulattos were still considered blacks and they were treated as such. Although many of the slaves had names, they were often referred by the particular tasks they did. For instance, Auslander notes that one of the slave women was referred to as the old cook woman. This is despite the fact the owner of the slave treated her well and had been with her for a long time. History details the struggle that the slaves went through. Many of the slaves struggled because they lacked an identity. The slave owners gave them whichever name they saw fit at that time. Although the slave owners referred to the slaves by the names they gave them, many of the slaves chose to retain their family names, or the names that their families had given them. Many of the slave owners were however not interested in what the slaves knew and they chose to disregard their names. This was made worse by the fact that many of them did not know how to read or write. This led to many problems, as some of the African Americans cannot trace their roots. Many of them do not know their ancestral origins. In some cases, the slave owners changed the names of the slaves when the slaves changed ownership. Auslander encountered the same difficulty when tracing the life of Miss Kitty. His work would have been easier, if the slave owners had let the slaves retain their identity.

In many instances, the whites and blacks are clearly divided over many issues. They each perceive the same situation in a different manner. This is especially the case of Andrew. While many white people sympathize with him, the blacks are quick to judge him. Frederick Douglas wrote a letter in which he stated that Andrew’s female slaves were his mistresses. This is despite the fact that Andrew had written a letter claiming that he was not a slave owner. He was a bishop and a member of the MethodistChurch. The church did not allow bishops to own slaves. This brought division to the church. The black and white communities do not agree on where to place Kitty historically. Auslander notes that both communities have different views of Miss Kitty. The white community sees her as a servant who was treated like part of the family. Such controversies are present in history books today. The African American community cannot trace its early culture and history, because they were denied the chance to get an education. Oral narratives passed down from one generation to the other are not sufficient to record history. They are sometimes distorted and events are retold according to the narrator’s opinion at the time. In some cases, the families do not have any descendants left, and so their origin and history is forgotten. The white people may have written down their history, but many of them did not consider including details such as slave ownership.

Through Auslander’s book, we identify the truth and the myths. It is true that the slaves were passed on from one white slave owner to another white slave owner as though they were property. It is also true that the slaves’ names were changed with a change in slave ownership. Through these changes and the lack of education, it made it hard for the African Americans to keep track of their routes and their origins. Very few African Americans today know their ancestral origins. Since education was foreign in Africa during the slavery period, history was passed orally from one generation to another. These acts did not change even in the foreign countries. The oral narrations became so inconsistent that it became hard to identify the real truth.

The reader also finds out that it is a myth that Miss Kitty could have chosen to stay as a slave out of her own free will at the Bishop’s place. This was just a story told by the white people and the Bishop in order to cover up her actions. The slaves wanted to be free from the oppression and the treatment they received from their masters. There is no one who would have wished staying such a life when they could choose the life of living in freedom. It is also a myth that the African American history written by the whites had the whole truth about the race. The whites were the slave owners and so they could not have written the whole truth as it would have made them look like very bad and evil people.

Auslander has recounted historical events when narrating his mythology. He has noted the hypocrisy that existed between different people. This was especially the case with the church. While many of them spoke openly against slavery, some of them were slave owners. Many of the Christians in the MethodistChurch criticized and spoke against the bishop for marrying a woman who was a slave owner, yet they also owned slaves. Since the church was divided into two, it means that some people openly supported the bishop. Such hypocrisies were present even during the civil war. Some of the leaders were quick to speak about equality yet they discriminated the African Americans. Many of the whites during the civil war were quick to speak about an end to discrimination, especially where the African American community was involved, yet the same people could not share the same facilities with the blacks. They were hypocritical since they encouraged segregation. Miss Kitty died young, yet her life continues to make a different to this day. Her story has different versions and she is an example of how history can sometimes be misrepresented. Auslander has effectively recounted historical events while narrating his mythology.