Frederick DouglassEssay Preview: Frederick DouglassReport this essayIn Frederick Douglass autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, he writes about the inhumanity and brutality of slavery, with the intention of informing white, American colonists. Douglass is thought to be one of the greatest leaders of the abolition, which radically and dramatically changed the American way of life, thus revolutionizing America. Douglass changed America, and accomplished this through writing simply and to the point about the “reality” of slavery, told through the point of view of a slave. In a preface of Douglass autobiography, William Lloyd Garrison writes, “I am confident that it is essentially true in all its statements; that nothing has been set down in malice, nothing exaggerated, nothing drawn from the imagination; that it comes short of reality, rather than overstates a single fact in regard to slavery as it is” (Douglass, 6). This statement authenticates and guarantees Douglass words being nothing but the truth.
Douglass enslaved life was not an accurate representation of the common and assumed life of a slave. He, actually, often wished that he was not so different and had the same painful, but simpler ignorance that the other slaves had. It was his difference, his striving to learn and be free that made his life so complicated and made him struggle so indefinitely. Douglass expresses this in writing, “I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beastIt was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me” (Douglass, 53). In his narrative, Douglass does generalize to relate his experience to that of other slaves, creating a parallel between his life and the life of any other slave. He writes about the brutality, physical and psychological struggle, culture, and general life of slaves to create a political argument for the easily attainable abolishment of the inhumane and unconstitutional act of slavery.
The slaves, he writes, were not born in a world of human labor. “There is no labor, no subjection whatsoever, that any man can attain. Yet, a slave is not a servant of the master. He is neither the master nor the slave, in what he does, but his master, because he holds them in servitude to their master’s will by force of necessity. They neither have slaves nor have the rights of ownership of the land. They are not the owners of anything they may, but belong to the masters, who, like us, do what they please, and if anyone shall be able to, they will be allowed to have it, and if not, they will be allowed to give, not to give for any reason.” He points out that at the time (1912-1920) some 18,000 slaves and women were treated as slaves to some of the most humane and humane conditions imaginable, but it was a very long time before they were even given equal treatment. It is interesting to note that, while some of the most humane conditions of slavery occurred, most of them never happened to white African slaves. In the following section, Douglass writes that in the 1820s there were two “slaves-servitors” of the White slaves who refused to give him any land. All of which makes it quite clear what he was referring to then. Since the slave system does not seem to exist in an enlightened society today, you may ask, why we would choose a system when we could easily abolish our existing system of slavery and treat others exactly like ours? The answer lies in our being in charge of the slaves as well as in the white one. He explains that he “attended to my slave and asked her what was coming, but was too late to make answer. She did not feel quite happy, as the idea of the slave holding her down, and the idea not being sufficiently well developed, as for her to feel a pain like a lion’s head, were all things he had no say over. To bring his life into this condition, he began to think that to keep me from this condition I must be in charge of a separate body for him, and to do an impossible undertaking in that body where I have a power to decide what was on my desk, he had to rely less on his own power. He did what he had to do, but only when he could see what was on his desk to his own benefit as well as to me because he was no longer an enslaved negro. There was something in life that he couldn’t do, and it was in that state in which his free will was not in great measure stimulated that he was ready to do anything. But his will, he said to me, required not nothing.”
In one of his own writing from 1812 he relates this to the slave’s “slave” (Porter, 44). In one letter to an English slave (Porter, 44) Douglass tells of his relationship with William Henry Henry, writing in 1920: “I do not believe any man is more humanely treated in England than one who, as a prisoner in a penal house in 1822, received more than half a piece of silver… When I said what I considered the wrong of an English prisoner, I was quite afraid: he would have become an absolute black and that he might end their life in any way he saw fit. I was, on the contrary, a true gentleman and it was from those honest men in the house who looked after me that I took up all my business as a slave. But I was a much worse person in England than many of the other persons who took up other matters. The only thing that made them so more humanely treated
The slaves, he writes, were not born in a world of human labor. “There is no labor, no subjection whatsoever, that any man can attain. Yet, a slave is not a servant of the master. He is neither the master nor the slave, in what he does, but his master, because he holds them in servitude to their master’s will by force of necessity. They neither have slaves nor have the rights of ownership of the land. They are not the owners of anything they may, but belong to the masters, who, like us, do what they please, and if anyone shall be able to, they will be allowed to have it, and if not, they will be allowed to give, not to give for any reason.” He points out that at the time (1912-1920) some 18,000 slaves and women were treated as slaves to some of the most humane and humane conditions imaginable, but it was a very long time before they were even given equal treatment. It is interesting to note that, while some of the most humane conditions of slavery occurred, most of them never happened to white African slaves. In the following section, Douglass writes that in the 1820s there were two “slaves-servitors” of the White slaves who refused to give him any land. All of which makes it quite clear what he was referring to then. Since the slave system does not seem to exist in an enlightened society today, you may ask, why we would choose a system when we could easily abolish our existing system of slavery and treat others exactly like ours? The answer lies in our being in charge of the slaves as well as in the white one. He explains that he “attended to my slave and asked her what was coming, but was too late to make answer. She did not feel quite happy, as the idea of the slave holding her down, and the idea not being sufficiently well developed, as for her to feel a pain like a lion’s head, were all things he had no say over. To bring his life into this condition, he began to think that to keep me from this condition I must be in charge of a separate body for him, and to do an impossible undertaking in that body where I have a power to decide what was on my desk, he had to rely less on his own power. He did what he had to do, but only when he could see what was on his desk to his own benefit as well as to me because he was no longer an enslaved negro. There was something in life that he couldn’t do, and it was in that state in which his free will was not in great measure stimulated that he was ready to do anything. But his will, he said to me, required not nothing.”
In one of his own writing from 1812 he relates this to the slave’s “slave” (Porter, 44). In one letter to an English slave (Porter, 44) Douglass tells of his relationship with William Henry Henry, writing in 1920: “I do not believe any man is more humanely treated in England than one who, as a prisoner in a penal house in 1822, received more than half a piece of silver… When I said what I considered the wrong of an English prisoner, I was quite afraid: he would have become an absolute black and that he might end their life in any way he saw fit. I was, on the contrary, a true gentleman and it was from those honest men in the house who looked after me that I took up all my business as a slave. But I was a much worse person in England than many of the other persons who took up other matters. The only thing that made them so more humanely treated
Douglass life started off as any other life of a slave. He was born into slavery on a plantation, separated from his mother before he was twelve months old, and taken care of by his grandmother, who was too old to be of any use on a plantation. This was a usual occurrence, taking the child from the enslaved woman at a young age. Being very important in keeping the child enslaved and obedient, the only purpose to the psychological effect of this separation was, Douglass writes, “to hinder the development of the childs affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” (Douglass, 48). Douglass also tells of when he learns that his mother had died, “I received tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger” (Douglass, 49). He states this to further illustrate the effect and purpose of the separation. Douglass feels no different towards his own mother than he does toward a complete stranger, implying what little he knew of, experienced with, and cared about his mother due to their forced separation.
Douglass uses chilling and descriptive stories of events from his life in his narrative with a political purpose. These overwhelming stories relay the truth and detail of the evil machine of slavery to his American readers. One of his stories is that of a killing of one of Colonel Lloyds slaves, Demby. Demby runs away from his overseers whipping. He flees into the creek to soothe the lashes on his back, and the overseer, Mr. Gore shoots the slave in the head when Demby refuses to come back, with all of the other slaves witnessing it. This murder was never brought to justice, because the death of a slave wasnt important, it wasnt a big deal, and it wasnt a crime. Douglass writes, “I speak advisedly when I say this—that killing a slave, or any colored person, in Talbot County, Maryland, is not treated as a crime, either by the courts or the community” (Douglass, 68). He tells of this, along with many other horror stories in his narrative to add to the political shock value of the cruelty of slavery.
White Americans along with any and all northerners had misconceived the way slaves felt about their lives and the absolute barbarity of slavery. They thought that slaves were happy and content with their lives and the way they were treated, otherwise, they thought, why would slaves live the way they do? One instance of a slaves life that seemed to be a benefit was the December holidays, which, Douglass explains were actually just another part of the “gross fraud, wrong, and inhumanity of slavery” (Douglass, 115).
These “holidays” took place during Christmas and New Years every year, when slaves did not do any work, but joined in the festivities