Throughout history slavery has been put in the spotlight. Whether it be positive or negative, slavery was at the forefront of an economy President Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address said this, “One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the sourthern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war.” Was the civil war really about the freedom of slavery? Or was there an underlying reason for the Civil War?
Before the Civil War began, we see the life of one young African American slave, Celia, a fourteen year old girl. Celia was bought by a man named Robert Newsom who had the mindset to make her his mistress, when he initially bought her. Throughout Celia’s life on the plantation, she was sexually abused, and gave birth to three children. George a slave himself, convinced Celia to confront Newsom about his abuse towards her. Since Celia was in love with George, she agreed. When Newsom came to her cabin intent on having sex with her, she resisted his advances, and has he counted to advance towards her, Celia began striking Newsom across the head until he was done. To help
cover up her crime, she burned him in her fireplace, and had Newsom’s grandson to get rid of his ashes. When his daughter’s discovered he was missing they sent a search team
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to look for him, finally Newsoms neighbor figured out that Celia killed Newsom and she was sent to prison. Though before being arrested Celia was considered property, the government finally permitted her to be considered human for the basis of her trial. As her trial continued, though her attorney ‘tried’ to acquit her of her crime on the basis of self defense. On page 109 the prosecution stated, “If Newsom was in the habit of having intercourse with the defendant who was his slave and went to her cabin on the night he was killed to have...