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Collection Overview

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves collected as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration.

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Special Features

These online exhibits provide context and additional information about this collection.

• An Introduction to the WPA Slave Narratives
• Voices and Faces from the Collection

Historical Eras

These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection, although they may not be ll-encompassing.

• The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877

Related Collections and Exhibits

These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary sources. Browse the Collection Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web site.

• From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909
• The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
• American Life Histories
• First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920
• Voices from the Days of Slavery

Other Resources

Recommended additional sources of information.

• Related Resources

Search Tips

Specific guidance for searching this collection.

To find items in this collection, search by Keyword or browse by Narrator or Volume.

For help with general search strategies, see Finding Items in American Memory.

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Last Updated: 11/03/2009