Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

The ignorance of slaves makes them incredibly vulnerable to oppression. Such great ignorance dispossesses slaves of their own personal, natural, individual identity. Slaves were deprived of basic knowledge of themselves, “I do not remember to have met a slave who could tell of his birthday.” (47). Douglass is speaking on how slaves had no accurate record of their age. He questions why “The white children could tell their ages” and “why [he] ought to be deprived… [He] was not allowed to make inquiries of my master…” (47). This basic information that is kept from them, but known by the White people makes the White people appear to be superior and the slaves inferior. Afterall, if you were an equal you would know your own age. This ignorance and their

In Frederick Douglass 's first autobiography, "Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, he provides a graphic portrayal of his childhood and disturbing experiences as a slave as well as his eventual escape to freedom. Douglass went through physical abuse, starvation, and mental fatigue during his youth, yet through unimaginable circumstances he was able to overcome everything and become a writer, newspaper editor, and most of all one of the most influential abolitionist. In telling his story, Douglass paints a realistic picture of slavery. Douglass 's narrative spells out the slaveholders ' tactics in simple terms while highlighting the moral inefficiencies and the damaging effects of slavery on both the slave and the slaveholder

Slaves were an economic positive but a social negative in history. They helped the economics of the country thrive and grow, but it was also a insult of a race. Africans also had a history that they should have been proud to have. Instead, they were denied their heritage and were made to be ashamed of the people that they were. The development of slavery was the white slave owners ' way to maintain control of the growing population of Africans, socially and industrially. If the slaves were confined to the fields of the plantations for supervision, the whites would remain dominant race and maintain their theory of "white supremacy." It also freed the slave owners from the worries of labor

Pathos: emotion/value, a way of convincing an audience of an argument by an emotional response

Slavery in the United States was a very devastating event that was caused by the demand of labor for slaves by slaveowners. The main purpose of these slaves were to provide owners with cheap labor and make a huge profit out of their hard work. However, the effects of slaves were that the African Population in the United States dramatically increased and how petitions were being made against slavery.

Slavery began when the African American people were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Hundreds and thousands of African Americans were packed into a ship. Men, women, and children were crammed inside in every available space with minimal breathing space. This caused majority of the slaves to contract diseases easily. Slaves were considered as movable property and labor workers. Slaves experienced a strain workload, harsh punishments, and the worry that their family members could be sold at any moment. “During the first half of the nineteenth century, renting out excess slave labor to temporary masters for a few weeks, months, or even years at a time was a common practice among slaveholders in Maryland and throughout much of the upper South” (Polgar, 2011).Agriculture became a large part of the economy for Southern farmers. The great amount of cotton grown during this time produced a need for slave labor during the first half of the 1800s. Slaveholders obtained a huge number of slaves to plant, care for, and harvest their crop. “Children were propelled into adulthood by

The institution of slavery was meant to be a permanent condition for Black males. This condition lay the historical outline for structural and societal racism resulting in a degrading formation of identity within Black. Africans were imported to the United States as purchased goods beginning around 1620. By 1770, almost 700,000 people, nearly 18 percent of the Americans were slaves. By the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, that number had exploded to over 4 million Davidson, J., DeLay, B., Heyrman, C., Lytle, M., & Stoff, M. (2011). Blacks were systemically dehumanized for hundreds of years, a practice that had unique social and psychological effects on men. They worked and were whipped in fields like animals. Any resemblance of pride, any call for justice, and any measure of manhood was tortured, beaten, or sold out of them. Most were forbidden from education, which included learning to read and write Davidson et al. (2011).

While Slavery was against human nature and while Abolitionists believed in ending the practice of slavery, the South had their own reasons why slavery was needed in America and how basically they supported pro slavery. For instance, some arguments for slavery followed this so-called logic: “Sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact in the South where reliance on slave labor was the foundation of their economy. If all the slaves were freed, there would be widespread unemployment and chaos. And by comparison with the poor of Europe and the workers in the Northern states, that slaves were better cared for” (ushistory.org). But in a section from, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written by him, Douglass describes some of the brutality that he had witnessed. “The overseer’s name was Plummer. Mr. Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster. He always went armed with a cowskin and a heavy cudgel. I have known him to cut and slash the woman’s heads so horribly, that even master would be enraged at his cruelty, and would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself. Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder” (Douglass 44). This shows the brutality that even female slaves endured and while the Maser may have showed some sense against the cruelty that the slaves faced, it wasn’t enough to say that they too were also cruel. Just putting aside the inhumanity depicted in true

Frederick Douglass, throughout Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, uses religion to get many of his points across. In one way, religion plays a huge role in Douglass’ ability to become literate throughout the text. With the Bible and other Christian texts, Douglass is able to further his ability and the ability of others to read. This becomes important because as Douglass points out the slaveholders believe a literate slave is not a good slave. This union of literacy and religion show the importance of religion to Douglass. However, Douglass also incorporates religious details throughout the Narrative and the appendix that lend themselves to a separation between “the Christianity of this land [America] and the Christianity of Christ.” These two distinct religious views cannot coexist in Douglass’ America, and it becomes clear that in order to abolish slavery, first one must confront these two distinct roles of Christianity. So in a way, Douglass’ religion is not just an attack on the unrighteous ways of the slave-holding Christian, but it also becomes a political vessel to forward the abolitionist cause. If religion is viewed as a political vessel for Douglass, the appendix can therefore be seen as his call-to-arms against the oppressive intolerance of slavery and slaveholder religion.

“My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather. My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage.”

Slavery played a huge role in shaping America as we know it today. 1619 was the beginning of slave trade when African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia. Slaves were more popular in the southern states than the northern. In 1860, 89 percent of the nation’s African Americans were slaves (Mintz). Tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations are the main resources slaves worked towards (history.com staff). Slaves weren’t even counted as an individual of society, they were only considered three-fifths of a person (history.com staff). According to history.com, most slaves lived on large farms or small plantations. Slave owners wanted slaves to feel helpless and dependent on their owner for survival. Slaves were restricted from learning to read and write as a tactic by slave owners to ensure that the slaves had no other opportunities.

The African-American slaves existed until the eighteenth century, which they were the first ones to develop the economic foundations of our country. Later, the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, which this solidified the importance of the slavery for the South’s economy. By the mid-nineteenth century, which was the expansion westward, the North would provoke a great debate against slavery. After the Civil War, the victory of our country freed four million slaves. By the

It is well known that slavery plagued the United States for hundreds of years, with the first African Slaves being brought to America in 1619 to the Roanoke Colony. However, the system of slavery developed in the United States is unique because of the way in which early European settlers justified it, the specific climate conditions faced in America the 1700 and 1800’s, and a dependence on the system of slavery. No longer were indentured servants with their temporary contracts and free will a viable source of work for these farmers, who subsequently found themselves in need of permanent laborers. Fueled by capitalism, Southern farmers took full advantage of the prospects of slavery to create new and bigger workforces, which

Frederick Douglass was also among the leaders of this genre. He was born a slave in Maryland in 1818 and he was succeding to escape from slavery in 1838 and lived in Massachusetts. After that, he became a lecturer and wrote the famous and the most influential narrative by a former slave entitled The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave published in 1845. This book became a sensation and with it Douglass became a great leader of the American ablotion

Patrick Henry once said, “give me liberty, or give me death.” In the eyes of Frederick Douglass and countless others enslaved, this took on a much deeper meaning to them. “It was doubtful liberty at most, and almost certain death is we failed.” [51] Frederick Douglass was one of the most commonly known slaves to have existed. Slavery has been around since the 1700s, but the subject of slavery is controversial because it not only includes information written from former slaves, but information acquired from historians. The question that has with stood the test of time is, “are these encounters that have been written out, exaggerated or the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” In the early 1800’s Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and grew up on Colonial Edward Lloyd’s plantation. Children would be separated from their mothers before they were twelve months in age-Frederick too was separated from his mother. As a result of entering slave-hood at an early age, he did not know his birthdate (like most slaves). Frederick Douglass’s account on slavery could be seen as biased as a result of first hand experiences with being held as a slave. Although, Douglass is able to be direct our thoughts to these experiences in such a light, you feel as if you are witnessing it happen right before you. Because of Douglass’s quest for freedom, his daring attitude, and determination to learn, he shows us the way through American Slavery in his eyes. Douglass provides