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In Their Own Words: A History of the American Negro 1619-1865
Milton Meltzer's celebrated three-volume history of the American Negro is told through the letters, speeches, memoirs, and testimony of Negroes themselves. This first volume, compiled from early letters and journals, carries the reader from a harrowing voyage on a slave ship to the jubilee day of emancipation. Frederick Douglas and John Brown are among the voices heard in the book.
195 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Milton Meltzer
178 books25 followersMilton Meltzer wrote 110 books, five of which were nominated for the National Book Award. With Langston Hughes, he co-authored A Pictorial History of Black Americans, now in its sixth edition. He received the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to children's literature, the 1986 Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award, and the 2000 Regina Medal. He died in New York City of esophageal cancer at age 94.
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January 12, 2024
Note that I read the first book of what appears to be a trilogy. Listings are a mess here on GR. I read '1619-1865.' I would like to read the others.
Wow. The more I think about it, the more I think it deserves five stars. Everyone should read it. Meltzer deserves lots of credit for choosing which selections to include, and for adding clarifying & concise notes, and for including back matter... but the excerpts, speeches, letters, etc. are the highlight. And gosh are they powerful. Not unremittingly grim, but horrifying & enlightening nonetheless.
Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter and sent his almanac to Thomas Jefferson, who conceded then that the Negro is not, after all, an inherently inferior race.
"As slaves continued to fight for their freedom, the bondage laws were made harsher and harsher."
The Federal Writer's Project shows up again - this time preserving history in the collection of memories of former slaves.
"What to the American slave is your 4th of July?" asks Frederick Douglass.
I like how one freed slave gets a letter from the old master, asking him to come back to work for wages, and he says, basically, pay us our back wages first so we have evidence we can trust you, it comes to $11,680.'
Wow. The more I think about it, the more I think it deserves five stars. Everyone should read it. Meltzer deserves lots of credit for choosing which selections to include, and for adding clarifying & concise notes, and for including back matter... but the excerpts, speeches, letters, etc. are the highlight. And gosh are they powerful. Not unremittingly grim, but horrifying & enlightening nonetheless.
Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter and sent his almanac to Thomas Jefferson, who conceded then that the Negro is not, after all, an inherently inferior race.
"As slaves continued to fight for their freedom, the bondage laws were made harsher and harsher."
The Federal Writer's Project shows up again - this time preserving history in the collection of memories of former slaves.
"What to the American slave is your 4th of July?" asks Frederick Douglass.
I like how one freed slave gets a letter from the old master, asking him to come back to work for wages, and he says, basically, pay us our back wages first so we have evidence we can trust you, it comes to $11,680.'
Displaying 1 of 1 review