Declaration of Independence

Katrina Ludwig

Dr. Silvana Siddali

Extra Credit—No More Auction Block

4/14/15

No More Auction Block

        “No More Auction Block” is a spiritual song that runs all the way back to the Civil War the United States was a part of. The song first became more apparent during the War, because it was a song for black soldiers. During this time, most anti-slavery songs do not deal with slavery directly, but “No More Auction Block” does. This song would not be sung by whites, it would only be sung by freed slaves, or black soldiers. The song did not stop playing after the War, the song kept going through with the fight for equal rights that became more prominent after the Civil War.

        From the song it was easy to gather real life situations that slaves had. “No more auction block for me. No more, no more. No more auction block for me. Many thousands gone” Slaves also began rejecting things associated with physical slavery such as “no more peck o’corn for me, no more pint o’salt for me” God has all of the power, and the trouble and pain the slaves faced was temporary because God will liberate black people. The term “Auction Block” was used because it refereed to the stage that the slaves would be sold on.  

        Based on this song, it is easy to gather that black people were being denied of human rights that began with the undermining of the sense of humanness. As human beings, the slaves have rights to be real people, as the Declaration of Independence says, “All men are created equal”. If our country really goes by that standard, slavery should end for the betterment of the country.  

        This song actually gave way to the song “We Shall Overcome” by Pat Seeger. The movement in both songs were the same and this song was close to people’s hearts as well. In “We Shall Overcome” a line is “I’ll be alright” and it is believed that slaves would sing it.  Both songs show that slaves are ready to be free, ready to move on with their lives. Both songs show the readiness to overcome, and to leave slavery behind, never to be seen again.