A colleague of mine shared with me this letter from a former slave to his master. Apparently the slave master was requesting for his former slave to come back and work for him after the Civil War. The whole letter is fantastic, but this is probably one of my favorite parts:
"As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars... If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future."
Read more here or here.
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