Harriet Jacobs:  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Questions for Further Study

• 1. What impact did the Mexican-American War have on the issue of slavery in the decade before the Civil War?
• 2. Most slave narratives published during this era were written by men. How do you think Jacobs’s narrative might differ from those because of her experiences as a woman?
• 3. By the time Jacobs was born, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was already on the books. What made the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 more frightening for her and her children?
• 4. What was “Bleeding Kansas”? What part did it play in the sectional divide that led to the Civil War?
• 5. Compare this document with Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup. What similar experiences did the authors have? How were their experiences different?