Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Administrative Files Selected Records Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives   By: United States. Work Projects Administration

A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves

TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT 1936 1938 ASSEMBLED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

WASHINGTON 1941

FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Paul Edwards, Administrator Amelie S. Fair, Director, Division of Community Service Programs Mary Nan Gamble, Chief, Public Activities Programs

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT Official Project No. 165 2 26 7 Work Project No. 540

Mary Nan Gamble, Acting Project Supervisor Francesco M. Bianco, Assistant Project Supervisor B.A. Botkin, Chief Editor, Writers' Unit

[Transcriber's Note: The CONTENTS section that follows lists the collection of Slave Narratives; the SELECTED RECORDS listing after the INTRODUCTION lists the nine Administrative Files included in this volume. An identifier has been added to the beginning of each of these Files.]

CONTENTS

I. ALABAMA

II. ARKANSAS

III. FLORIDA

IV. GEORGIA

V. INDIANA

VI. KANSAS

VII. KENTUCKY

VIII. MARYLAND

IX. MISSISSIPPI

X. MISSOURI

XI. NORTH CAROLINA

XII. OHIO

XIII. OKLAHOMA

XIV. SOUTH CAROLINA

XV. TENNESSEE

XVI. TEXAS

XVII. VIRGINIA

INTRODUCTION

I

This collection of slave narratives had its beginning in the second year of the former Federal Writers' Project (now the Writers' Program), 1936, when several state Writers' Projects notably those of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina recorded interviews with ex slaves residing in those states. On April 22, 1937, a standard questionnaire for field workers drawn up by John A. Lomax, then National Advisor on Folklore and Folkways for the Federal Writers' Project[1], was issued from Washington as "Supplementary Instructions 9 E to The American Guide Manual" (appended below). Also associated with the direction and criticism of the work in the Washington office of the Federal Writers' Project were Henry G. Alsberg, Director; George Cronyn, Associate Director; Sterling A. Brown, Editor on Negro Affairs; Mary Lloyd, Editor; and B.A. Botkin, Folklore Editor succeeding Mr. Lomax.[2]

[Footnote 1: Mr. Lomax served from June 25, 1936, to October 23, 1937, with a ninety day furlough beginning July 24, 1937. According to a memorandum written by Mr. Alsberg on March 23, 1937, Mr. Lomax was "in charge of the collection of folklore all over the United States for the Writers' Project. In connection with this work he is making recordings of Negro songs and cowboy ballads. Though technically on the payroll of the Survey of Historical Records, his work is done for the Writers and the results will make several national volumes of folklore. The essays in the State Guides devoted to folklore are also under his supervision." Since 1933 Mr. Lomax has been Honorary Curator of the Archive of American Folk Song, Library of Congress.]

[Footnote 2: Folklore Consultant, from May 2 to July 31, 1938; Folklore Editor, from August 1, 1938, to August 31, 1939.]

On August 31, 1939, the Federal Writers' Project became the Writers' Program, and the National Technical Project in Washington was terminated. On October 17, the first Library of Congress Project, under the sponsorship of the Library of Congress, was set up by the Work Projects Administration in the District of Columbia, to continue some of the functions of the National Technical Project, chiefly those concerned with books of a regional or nationwide scope. On February 12, 1940, the project was reorganized along strictly conservation lines, and on August 16 it was succeeded by the present Library of Congress Project (Official Project No. 165 2 26 7, Work Project No. 540).