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Blacks Hopes and Expectations of Emancipation.

An article by Woodville K. Marshall. He preferred the title We be wise to

many more things. The article displays the behavior of the blacks dring the

times of post!emancipation and Woodville displays this in several ways.

Woodville also ses the actions and words of several historians to administerthis.

The "lacks# hopes and e$pectations in the literatre did not %gre

prominently. &n the literatre slaves were characteri'ed as la'y niggers

however this was only becase the slaves wanted better working conditions.

"t the blacks were actally intelligent in a way as they devised and

e$ected srvival strategies despite their harsh conditions. Also( there is a

sggestion that blacks had a limited view on themselves and that they were

incapable of acting flly as thinking( feeling individals.

The range and natre of blacks# hopes and e$pectations are derived from

what the blacks did dring slavery. This is mainly to what e$tent the blacks

went to gain emancipation and how they portrayed their hardships and

s)ering to the whites in relation to their freedom. This reslted in the

apprenticeship system which was a complete failre. "lacks even soght

freedom by practicing religion.

*reedom of movement which was the session where the blacks clearly

e$pected that the forced immobili'ation of slavery and Apprenticeship(

symboli'ed by pass laws( wold disappear and that they wold be free totake their persons( their skills and labor to whatever they chose.

+onsolidation of *amily , dring apprentice the blacks reali'ed that

emancipation was near as they was allowed to consolidate with their family

members that had s)ered forced separation and distribting domestic

responsibilities and to allocate family labor. This was sed to ma$imi'e

family e)ort and child labor.

-st and /itable Wages , The blacks reali'ed that they were being

given poor wages and the employers# refsal to do attend this lead tointense and prolonged resistance among the blacks and whites. "lack

notions of a 0st and e/itable wage rate at emancipation was based on the

level of wages paid for free time dring apprenticeship on the vale that they

were given mch less that they were spposed to be given inclding the cost

of basic necessities.

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1oose 1abor Arrangements , this meant that there was a distinct

preference for ncontracted employment for task work and 0ob work. This

provoked blacks intention to control their time and prse their interests.

This allowed them the opportnity when to plan labor and seek to make

money or other employment.

asy Access to 2rovision 3ronds , There had been clear indications that

dring apprenticeship( since blacks were given provision gronds to make

their own crops they sed their free time for cltivation of crops and to repair

their hoses. &n some territories laborers sed their hts and gronds as a

sort of strike fnd to maintain themselves while they foght their employers#

attempts either to impose high rents or to dispossess of them. 4e to this

marketing techni/es the slaves cold of improved the /ality of life and live

in better standards. Therefore they looked forward to the day where they

cold se their time so they cold transform their lives for the bene%t. This

showed that the slaves had a place in society and that there was a need to

abolish slavery for those social( cltral and economical vales.

*ate of 5evoltion , The black#s failre to illstrate and fashion the type of

emancipation they wanted was inevitable. The blacks hope for a form of

economic self s6ciency was also restricted pon restrictions on mobility(

tenancy( occpational di)erentiation( s/atting( se of plantation property

and by the depressed wages and limited opportnities. This meant that

emancipation was a managed operation in the sense that it was sponsored

to have social or economic conse/ences. There had been measresprepared to not oppose the emancipation act sch as the "ritish government

789m compensation. The blacks decided to avoid confrontation of these wars

for emancipation and hoped that mainly passive pressre wold bring the

ad0stments that they soght.

:igni%cance of "lacks# hopes and e$pectations. The blacks failed to

reali'e that most of their hopes and e$pectations prodced deep frstrations(

resentment and demorali'ation. &t was painflly obvios that emancipation

was n%nished bsiness becase had retrned to a dependent state on the

plantation and to a standard of living not to far from the slavery theye$perienced. Hopeflly the political developments made a change to this

agenda over the years bt there still is n%nished bsiness for the historians.

&n the end Woodville tried to show s the mind of the "lacks dring post!

emancipation and how they foght for their freedom. The blacks hoped that

emancipation wold provide the opportnity for them to take control of their

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own lives( to lay a completely new base for the society. Woodville tried to

show that the mind of others was important in the decision making of

emancipation. &t was the work of integrating all the elements of or past(

particlarly those that were criminali'ed and sbmerged and that hopeflly

we wold all be wise to many more things.