I Liked My Papa the Best

Abstract

This chapter examines how enslaved men managed to influence their children despite the structural constraints of slavery, with a focus on former slaves’ commentaries on their fathers and the traits they appreciated and criticized. Because masters failed to uphold slave communities’ vision of honorable manhood, formerly enslaved people compared negligent and abusive black fathers to slaveholders, underscoring their rejection of paternalism. An examination of slave narratives produced in different times and under different circumstances reveals a robust and enduring vision of paternal duty and the ways that enslaved fathers often shaped the identity-formation of their children, even in cases of limited contact and forced separation. Enslaved fathers faced brutal conditions and agonizing choices and yet many valiantly tried to implement their understanding of paternal duty and honor.