Fighting for Freedom
In spite of the threat of violence, the men, women, and children who Andrew Jackson held in bondage still found ways to fight against the injustice and inhumanity of slavery. There were several instances of slaves running away. Jackson family letters and archaeological evidence suggest the enslaved at The Hermitage also found other ways to assert some control over their lives.Breaking tools or feigning illness allowed some physical relief from the backbreaking and unending tasks of the day. Speaking out against the overseer or even the Jackson family brought a degree of emotional satisfaction. However, such actions also assured a violent reprisal from the lash as well as the tongue. It is likely that in most cases, the enslaved directed most of their resistance toward the overseer, since he managed their activities on a daily basis.In individual cases, slavery may have been less brutal, but it was never benign....Mrs. Jackson informs me that her maid Betty has been putting on some airs, and has been guilty of a great deal of impudence...I have directed that the first impertinence she uses, or the first disobedience of orders, that she be publicly whipped. She can behave herself if she will and I have told her that Publickly whipped she shall be, the first offence. - Andrew Jackson to Andrew Jackson Donelson, July 3, 1821HM Number | HM1LUA |
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Tags | |
Placed By | The Hermitage Foundation |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Tuesday, July 14th, 2015 at 10:03pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16S E 534916 N 4008253 |
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Decimal Degrees | 36.21850000, -86.61151667 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 36° 13.11', W 86° 36.691' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 36° 13' 6.6" N, 86° 36' 41.46" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 615 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 4580 Rachels Ln, Nashville TN 37076, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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