University Libraries

Title:  Slave Narratives, a Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves (Federal Writers' Project)

Location:  Jerome Library Main Microforms; Microfiche 326.973 F29s

Format and Number of Reels/Fiche/Cards:  Microfiche; 168 fiche

Publisher:  Library of Congress

Content Description:  Typewritten transcripts of oral interviews conducted with former slaves by the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. The 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.

These same transcripts are available in a multi-volume set of books: The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, ed. by George P. Rawick. These transcripts are also available at Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project 1938-1938, a site with the Library of Congress' American Memory Project. Some of the transcripts are available at American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology, from the University of Virginia.

Language(s):  English

Arrangement:  Organized by state:

• Reel 1: Alabama
• Reel 2 & 3: Arkansas
• Reel 4: Florida
• Reel 5: Georgia
• Reel 6: Indiana
• Reel 7: Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri
• Reel 8: North Carolina
• Reel 9: Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia
• Reel 10: South Carolina
• Reel 11: Texas

Index/Bibliography:  The microfiche includes an alphabetical list of all interviewees at the beginning of each state group. Also, see the above web sites and books.

Subject Categories:  History; Multicultural Studies; Women's Studies

Keywords:  slave, slaves, slavery, oral histories, Civil War, Ku Klux Klan, KKK, emancipation

Time Period:  19th century; 20th century