I decided to focus my analysis on Sarah Kemble Knight’s, “The Private Journal of a Journey from Boston to New York in the Year 1704.” Upon reading the text I was able to conclude that Knight was racist.

Sarah Kemble Knight’s racist ideologies are apparent when she is traveling through Connecticut and encounters Native Americans. In the text, Knight writes, “... I passed a number of Indians, the natives of the country, and are the most savage of all the savages of that kind that I had ever seen…” (Knight, 107). This travel diary details the discomforts of living and traveling while living a “primitive lifestyle.” Knight’s definition of “primitive lifestyle” includes traveling through a dark forest on horseback, staying at rundown lodgings, eating horribly prepared food, and encountering Native Americans. I would’ve liked to know more about the laws against Native Americans during this time. Were there any major historical events in 1704 concerning Native Americans? From the text, I understood that she was racially biased due to the era she lived in. It would’ve been helpful to hear more about any major historical events that occurred in the year 1704 that might have influenced the author’s racial views. Nine months before Madam Knight’s journey, there was a fallout in the Connecticut River Valley. In February 1704, a group of French and Native Americans attacked a Massachusetts village of Deerfield, (Wands 87). The attack resulted in multiple casualties; fifty English settlers were killed during the surprise raid and one-hundred and twelve Deerfield residents were taken captive, (Wands 87). During this time there were Native American tribes that were attacking other tribes by working closely with European forces. In the same year, English and Native American’s attacked Apalachee towns, the raids resulted in hundreds of enslaved Apalachees, (Dubcovsky 297).