Effects Of Slavery In Frederick Douglass

In the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, written by himself, the author argues that slaves are treated no better than, sometimes worse, than livestock. Douglass supports his claim by demonstrating how the slaves were forced to eat out of a trough like pigs and second, shows how hard they were working, like animals. The author’s purpose is to show the lifestyle of an American slave in order to appeal to people’s emotions to show people, from a slave’s perspective, what slavery is really like. Based on the harsh descriptions of his life, Douglass is writing to abolitionist and other people that would sympathize and abolish slavery.

He notes that, the slavery institution made them forget about their origin, and anything else that entails their past, and even when they were born. The slaves forgot everything about their families, and none knew about their family because, they were torn from them without any warning. Douglass explains how they went without food, clothing and even sleep because their masters were cruel to them. American slavery took advantage of black laborers as they were beaten mercilessly without committing any offense. They were not treated as human beings, but as property that could be manipulated in any way. The slavery institution was harsh for the Africans especially women who were regularly raped, and forced to bear their masters children and if they declined, they were maimed or killed.

“It was not color, but crime, not God, but man that afforded the true explanation of the existence of slavery; nor was I long in finding out another important truth, what man can make, man can unmake” (Douglass 59). In My Bondage and My Freedom, Fredrick Douglass explains in detail the harsh and cruel realties of slavery and how slavery was an institution that victimized not only slaves, but slave holders, and non-slave holding whites. Fredrick Douglass could not have been more right with his observation of slavery. In my opinion, slavery is not only an institution, but is a prime example of a corrupt business model that thrives on free labor, ultimate control, and wealth.

Slavery is an institution that repetitively separates family members and close friends from each other, without any regard to those people. This aids in disrupting the heteronormative nuclear family relationship greatly. Frederick Douglass said that “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant…” and that “It is a common custom…to part children from their mothers at a very early age.”(pg. 1). This showing that most children that were born into slavery would grow up having no relationship at all with their own mothers. Also, a lot of slaves were born into slavery by the fact that “children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers,” (pg. 2) and the slaveholder now holds the title of father and master. With being torn from their mother at a young age and having your own father be your master, completely takes away the chance of a child that is born into slavery from having the “normal” nuclear family relationship.

The power that they have over their slaves has a damaging effect on their moral health because they are careless. Douglass describes adultery and rape as typical behavior patterns of slaveholders which damage their families. Sophia Auld is Douglass's main illustration of the corruption of slave owners. The power of slaveholding changes Sophia from a nice woman to a demon. She went from a kind, caring and loving person into a typical mean slave master. She was no longer able to teach Douglass how to read because her husband disapproved it. Slaveholders gain and keep power over blacks from their birth onward by keeping them ignorant of basic facts about themselves. For example slaves didn't know their birth date or who their parents were. They didn't want slaves to have a natural sense of identity. Slave children were not allowed to learn to read or write because this would lead slaves to question their rights.

Frederick Douglass is from the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, in February 1818 as a slave. His mother was Harriet Bailey and his father was rumored to be Aaron Anthony, a white plantation manager. He learns how to read and write when at Master Hugh Auld’s plantation. Frederick Douglass learned how to read not knowing that slavery was bad, but he started to read newspapers and would see all the effects slavery has on everyone. Douglass quickly regretted learning how to read and write and would wish death upon himself, all he wanted was to be free.

In the Narrative, Douglass shows slaveholding to be damaging not only to the slaves themselves, but to slave owners as well. The corrupt and irresponsible power that slave owners enjoy over their slaves has a detrimental effect on the slave owners’ own moral health. With this theme, Douglass completes his overarching depiction of slavery as unnatural for all involved. Douglass shows how white slaveholders perpetuate slavery by keeping their slaves ignorant. At the time Douglass was writing, many people believed that slavery was a natural state of being. They believed that blacks were inherently incapable of participating in civil society and thus should be kept as workers for whites. This leads to cultural hegemony which is the way that society is ruled by people in power. The beliefs, values, and expectations are said to be true, and made to keep the people in power powerful. This is what caused blacks to feel bad about themselves and for whites to feel like they were better than other races. The Narrative explains the strategies and procedures by which whites gain and keep power over blacks from their birth onward. Slave owners keep slaves ignorant of basic facts about themselves, such as their

Douglass expressed that slaves were just human beings but were always treated as property, that was the economical impact, slaves were property and constantly being traded and taken away from there families. Since they were frequently passed between the whites, the slaveholders could careless that some of the slaves would be apart from there families and the young children were separated from there mothers at birth. Douglass explains that the slave owners would often treat them as animals or objects, they only way they valued the slaves is because they can perform productive labor.

Slavery corrupted slave owner. Slave owner were ok until the was forced to whip and abuse and assault their slave because they were tired of working all day and night and they don’t want to work because they are tired. Douglass argues about how slavery corrupted slave own. But Douglass wanted to understand why does the slave owner get corrupted with just a little bit of power like if they was the president of the

During the eighteenth century, slavery was already well-established section of the American labor system. As the amount of slaves grew in size, they did not receive rights, and were mostly separated from their families. They were mostly needed for agricultural labors and had to work mostly from dusk to dawn. Frederick Douglass’s experiences as a slave was different than that other colonial labor because of the strict treatment he received from his masters, the inferiority to other humans that he felt, and the harsh conditions he lived in.

In the history of this country there never was a more eager group to accept knowledge as the minorities of this country whose burthen was consistent hard labor, and of which the once enslaved were a part of as well. What they were called on to do with their hands and muscles, but never with their minds, they did without the awareness of higher things. But once given the stuff of thought, they were much displeased at being used without respect and at being so low and base and subject to such common toil.

Being a slave in the United States was not uncommon in the 19th century. There were many brutalities of being a slave including physical and spiritual abuse. Slaves were considered property and not as human beings. They were mistreated and kept illiterate. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is a autobiography written by Frederick Douglass himself that told of his experiences of being a slave in the United States. He expresses the brutality the slave owners and how he struggled with running away to become a free human being. The themes of his story include: the ignorance of slaves, the treatment of slaves as property, religion used as justification, and the victimization of female slaves.

Imagine that a slave is released from bondage after he is enslaved his entire life. The values and cognition of a slave will undoubtedly be different from that of an average person who has never been exposed to slavery. Slavery has an impactful toll on those that are enslaved and treated so brutally. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass exhibits the repercussions of slavery. Slavery dehumanizes both slaves and their slave owners because of the abuse of power and injustice that slaveowners and slaves witness everyday.

Slavery is terrible and hurts slaves and corrupts slave owners. Slaves are whipped until they do what was told or if they don’t finish. Slave owners were good people, but they were corrupted with too much power. In the “Narrative”, Douglass talks about how slavery is bad for slaves and slave owners.

No slave needs to live on a manor in the nation, and Douglass is to some degree more fortunate than most in such manner. For quite a bit of his life, he lives in Baltimore, where slaves are dealt with better, and which is a less demanding spot from which to escape to opportunity. In the nation slaves are regularly whipped fiercely, and they are once in a while sufficiently given nourishment or attire. Slave proprietors in the city would be embarrassed for their neighbors to see their slaves abandoning enough sustenance or apparel. In the city, Douglass figures out how to peruse and meets a wide assortment of individuals who help him on his street to opportunity: the white kids who help him figure out how to peruse and compose, the mariners