"This gave me great influence over them": The Voice of Frederick Douglass at Wye House

Summary

As historical archaeologists, we use historical documentation while also frequently claiming that our work "gives voice to the voiceless." For a decade, Archaeology in Annapolis has been excavating at Wye House on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in an attempt to highlight the lives of enslaved—later freed—Africans and African Americans on the plantation.  However, our work of "giving voice" runs into the issue that the most dominant voice from this site comes from Frederick Douglass, who shares his experiences of being enslaved as a boy at Wye House and throughout Talbot County, Maryland. This paper attempts to articulate two researchers' relationships with Douglass as a historical figure, as an author, as a literary character, in popular culture, and ultimately as a guide into their archaeological research.  We ask, 'How can archaeologists use the experiences of historical figures who spoke for themselves to better tell the narratives of those who could not?'

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Narratives Not Forgotten: New Directions in Plantation Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 525