Slave Narratives, a Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves

Scope

Typewritten transcripts of oral interviews conducted with former slaves by the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938.  Two thousand former slaves were interviewed about their families and childhood, their work as slaves, clothing and food, education, impressions of their masters, leisure and recreation, illnesses and medical care, and their impressions of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. They were also asked what they remembered of emancipation, the Civil War, and the Ku Klux Klan.

The microfilm collection also includes the appraisal sheets and interview evaluations with more information on the methodology and goals of the Federal Writer’s Project.

These same transcripts are available in print under the same title (General Collection  E 444 F27) as well as in The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography , ed. by George P. Rawick (General Collection E 444 A45) and at Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938, a site with the Library of Congress’ American Memory Project. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938 also has photographs. Some of the transcripts and photographs are available at American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology, from the University of Virginia.