Shelbi Campbell

HIST 1301
Ms. Chandler
11/12/16

Henry Box Brown

Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, written by Henry Brown, takes place during the 19th

century. Brown was born into slavery, and sent to work in a tobacco factory at the age of 15.

Even though he had an easier life than most slaves, he still faced many hardships. In 1849,

Brown decided to ship himself to freedom in a wooden crate, all the way to Philadelphia. After

escaping, he later went on speaking against slavery and finally got his narrative published in

1849.

Brown and his brother were both born into slavery. The lived on In the beginning of the

narrative, Brown talks a lot about how his mother treated him as a child and described some of

the things she would tell him. According to Brown, his mother had a good time raising him and

his brother although they were slaves. Since his mother and father made recompense to the slave-

owner for property they had some freedoms. my son, as yonder leaves are stripped from off the

trees of the forest, so are the children of the slaves swept away from them by the hands of cruel

tyrants, Brown explained. Brown explains how sacred her words were to him, and remember

seeing the pain in her face.

There was definitely a cultural difference within slavery, mentioned throughout the narrative.

Since Henrys slave master was consider uncommonly kind, him and his brother were able go to

the mill a few times during the year to visit the slaves at the mills, in Yansinville County. Brown

and his brother are described as wearing more appealing clothing than the slaves who worked in

the mills. They had no shoes, hats, vests, or coats, and when my brother spoke of their poor
clothing they said they had never before seen colored persons dressed as we were,Brown

described. The slaves in the mills were surprised to see a well-dressed person of color. When

Brown and his brother learned about the hardships mill slave had faced, they felt sorry for them.

Brown and his brother had never been whipped before but the mills slaves have, We felt

thankful that we were exempted from such treatment Brown and his brother were thankful for

not having to be in a mill slaves position, but they still knew it was possible to still become one.

In this narrative, Brown wasnt a typical slave, but he still manages to describe what a typical

slave goes through. Henry gets a lot of information from traveling to different mills in the areas

and visiting with the slaves in other plantations. Colonel Ambler was a good example of how

most masters treated their slaves. Since his slaves werent allowed to attend church, the slaves

had to sneak in the night and do baptisms while the master was asleep. If they were caught there

were severe consequences. Many of us were severely whipped for having been baptized the

night before! said one of the slaves to Brown. The slaves even got punished just for speaking to

Brown, since he wasnt a slave to Amblers plantation. "We shall have to suffer for this talk with

you said one of the slaves to Brown. After we left them we heard the screams of these

poor creatures while they were suffering under the blows of the hard treatment received from the

overseers, Brown explained. These are just a few of the punishments a typical slave had went

through for not following the rules.

There were instances that werent typical for slaves, in the narrative. The fact that Browns

master was uncommonly kind, shows that Henry did not have a typical slave lifestyle. His

master would let him and his brother travel to the mills once in a while, and they had never been

whipped before. They did what they were told and never really got into trouble with the slave

master. The fact that Brown escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom is also not typical.
Most slaves usually escaped by foot. Trying to be successfully mailed, in a box, to freedom

means risking your life. These are just a few instances how Browns life wasnt normal.

The most significant point the author is trying address is the story of how he came to be a free

man. That was the main point of the narrative. He wanted everyone to know about his life as a

slaves and his journey. I think one point of view the author left out was his fathers point of view.

He talks more about his mother than his father in the narrative. I would have liked to know what

he was doing during the time as well.

This book was mainly written to help Brown raise money to purchase his families (wife and

kids) freedom, when they were taken from him later on. He published it in 1849. The audience

would be mainly abolitionists, or anybody who wants to know what a slave went through during

the time. He wanted everyone to know the truth and listen to a free mans point of view. He did a

good job of getting his story out.

I think the book was very informative and educational. I liked listening to his stories and what

he went through as a slave. He came across a lot of different people in his life and he included

many perspectives. I would recommend this book to somebody who is interested in learning

more about slavery and black history. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The reason its

not a 5 is because in some cases I could not understand what the author was saying, or what his

point was. Over all, he did a good job of the narrative and telling his story!
 Bibliography

Chandler, Kimberly The Old South Lecture Notes, History 1301, Houston Academy for

International Studies, November 9th, 2016

Brown, Henry. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by himself, Manchester:

Cannon Street, 1851.

Tindal and Shi, America: A Narrative History, Chapter 11: The South, Slavery, and King

Cotton, New York: W.W. Norton, 2016