Project Gutenberg 2012-09-14 Public domain in the USA. 211 Ball, Charles Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Richard J. Shiffer and the Distributed Proofreading volunteers at http://www.pgdp.net for Project Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.) "Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave" by Charles Ball is a historical account written in the mid-19th century. The narrative recounts the true story of the author's life as a slave in the Southern United States, detailing the harrowing experiences and memories associated with his upbringing, family separation, and eventual enslavement. The book sheds light on the brutal realities of slavery and its impact on individuals and families, making it an important document in understanding American history. The opening of the narrative introduces the readers to the author's tragic beginnings, marked by the forced separation from his mother at a very young age. He recalls the painful moment of being taken from her arms, the emotional distress experienced by both mother and child, and the subsequent life of hardship and degradation that awaited him as a slave. Ball describes his family history, detailing the struggles of his parents, the indifference of slave owners, and the dehumanizing conditions that characterize the lives of enslaved people. His early memories paint a vivid portrait of loss, survival, and the longing for familial bonds, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the horrors and resilience of the enslaved population throughout the narrative. (This is an automatically generated summary.) file:///public/vhost/g/gutenberg/html/files/40760/40760-h/images/cover.jpg Reading ease score: 61.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en African Americans -- Biography Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography Ball, Charles, 1781?- Slavery -- Maryland -- History Slavery -- South Carolina -- History Slavery -- Georgia -- History E300 Text Category: Biographies Category: History - American 629832 2025-08-16T13:21:40.446045 text/html 616300 2024-10-23T10:47:57 text/html 336319 2025-08-16T13:21:46.754976 application/epub+zip 342730 2025-08-16T13:21:41.471011 application/epub+zip 274985 2025-08-16T13:21:40.962077 application/epub+zip 515949 2025-08-16T13:21:51.388970 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 456701 2025-08-16T13:21:46.175987 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 389348 2022-09-18T16:15:20.012866 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 590901 2025-08-16T13:21:39.732052 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 570881 2024-10-23T10:47:57 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17567 2025-08-16T13:21:51.537923 application/rdf+xml 25019 2025-08-16T13:21:41.033995 image/jpeg 2616 2025-08-16T13:21:40.999973 image/jpeg 326233 2025-08-16T13:21:40.500977 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia