Question

Which parts of these excerpts show that slaves had no legal rights and were often betrayed by their masters?
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

by Frederick Douglass (excerpt)

Not a slave was left free. All remained slaves, from the youngest to the oldest. If any one thing in my experience, more than another, served to deepen my conviction of the infernal character of slavery, and to fill me with unutterable loathing of slaveholders, it was their base ingratitude to my poor old grandmother.

She had served my old master faithfully from youth to old age. She was nevertheless a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of strangers; and in their hands she saw her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, divided like so many sheep, without being gratified with the small privilege of a single word as to their or her own destiny.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

by Harriet Ann Jacobs (excerpt)

He was a bright, handsome lad, nearly white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Though only ten years old, seven hundred and twenty dollars were paid for him. His sale was a terrible blow to my grandmother; but she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work with renewed energy, trusting in time to be able to purchase some of her children.

She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan, promising to pay her soon. The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property. While my grandmother was thus helping to support me from her hard earnings, the three hundred dollars she had lent her mistress were never repaid.

Answer 1

for the first answer choices they are :

A) All remained slaves, from the youngest to the oldest

B) If any one thing in my experience, more than another, served to deepen my conviction of the infernal character of slavery, and to fill me with unutterable loathing of slaveholders, it was their base ingratitude to my poor old grandmother.

C) She had served my old master faithfully from youth to old age

D) She was nevertheless a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of strangers; and in their hands she saw her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, divided like so many sheep, without being gratified with the small privilege of a single word as to their or her own destiny.

Answer 2

here are the second answer choices for excerpt 2:

A) He was a bright, handsome lad, nearly white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors.

B) seven hundred and twenty dollars were paid for him.

C) She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan, promising to pay her soon.

D) no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding;

E) according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property.

Answer 3

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