Frederick Douglass Slavery Story (Essay Sample)

FREDRICK DOUGLASS SLAVERY STORY.
Fredrick Douglass was born in the town of Easton, on the Easter shore of Maryland. Douglass did know of is exact date that he was born claiming that he was denied the privilege to. He was born under slavery at the time of colonial era in America. Fredrick was a black American who never knew who really his father was but according to some rumors believed to be the master. Douglass was abandoned by his mother when he was very young and therefore was raised by his grandparents. He usually meets with her mother at night since she was hired to nearby plantation 14miles away from where he was.
Slaves were denied the right to education, the white people did not want the slaves to exploit the capabilities since they would understand their rights and get against the. In Douglass life it shows how white people made sure the slaves were as ignorant as possible so as to rule them with ease. They believed that slavery in black people was their nature and they should have remained that way, they also believed that blacks could not be part of a civilized society hence were meant to work for the whites. Slave owners kept facts about the slaves, such us there parents and date of birth hence no individual identity and as a result blacks remained as slaves. By keeping slaves illiterate controlled what the American country should know about slavery. (Douglass, 1849)
The first event the Fredrick Douglass learned about freedom was the need for education and knowledge; he learns this from Hugh Auld when Auld asks his wife not to engage Douglass into activities that would lead to giving him formal education which would eventually be an obstacle to slavery. This was when Fredrick realized how whites manage to keep the blacks as slaves and by which slaves can get their freedom.
Douglass also noted bad slaveholding was to both the slaves and the slave owners. Slave owners corrupt and irresponsible power towards the slaves actually affected the slave owners on their moral health. In this case the morals of the slave owners is questioned, some of the facts on this includes the temptation of committing adultery by having slaves who can reject or say know to the, or rather advise them on the wrong of what they are trying to do. Some owners also get involved in rape cases for those who strongly resists on their needs. This also leads to fathering of kids born out of their slave females. As a result of all this it threatens the marriage especially the union made by slave owner’s family, as the owner’s wife gets cruel and unfriendly demanding the father’s child to sell the child or punish his own child. Alternatively some owners choose to be blind of their sins the make on their own homes. (Douglass,1971)
Douglass was also motivated by the city of Baltimore. Baltimore was a city of relative freedom for slaves. The freedom was as a result of quality set by the non-slaveholding residents of the urban population, which actually prevented slaveholders in general from exercising extreme cruelty on their possessions, the slave. The area also demonstrated a place of chances in making a good life, opportunities and open society unlike where Douglass was staying. It was in this city that Douglass meets whites for the first time who were against slavery and considered blacks as human being, unlike the countryside where cruelty and barbaric nature towards slaves.
The white-sailed ships were also another motivation for Douglass escaping to freedom in the north. These ships were sailing up the Chesapeake Bay at the time of low psych and energy at his first month with Covey. The ships pictured to Douglass as a freedom vision and made him believe that it is a sign or message his demoralized state. The white sail which interacted with the angels, proposed a spiritualism which meant that the freedom coming with spiritualism.
The influence of slavery was evident in Sophia Auld’s character. The negative energy and irresponsibility changed Sophia into a very different woman like a demon. Early in the days of Sophia Auld, before knowing the real part of slavery, she transformed into a totally cruel, jealous and tyrant woman. The slave owners treated as property instead of human beings. In this case, regardless of where the slave’s families where never mattered to the slave owner since they could be moved between different owners, they were only valued as an extension that would make good productive labour.(Douglass,2008)
Women in Douglass’ narrative appeared as partial characters with vivid images that actually bring out the corrupt part of slavery. Douglass’ Aunt Hester, Henrietta, Mary and Henny where pictured in the scenes where their masters abused their bodies. This fact that women are mangled and emaciated meant pain on the unnaturalness of the whole thing in slavery. With irresponsible power, slave owners did anything the wanted with women hence bringing out the corrupt part of slavery, that actually made the whites barbaric. (Stauffer, 2014)
Another point of the corrupt slavery is demonstrated when Douglass leaves his master Hugh and Sophia Auld and becomes a property of Thomas Auld, former husband of Capt...