The Brutality And Inhumanity Of Slavery In The 1800's

In the 1800’s, slavery was a huge part of America. Slavery helped boost the economy and was heavily dependent upon by Americans. Slaves were treated as if they were not humans, but property. Slaves natural right of freedom was taken away by the white Americans. This oppression occurred in America, while they claimed that their nation was the nation of freedom and liberty. One of the slaves that would help change history was named Frederick Douglass, and he had a lot to say about American hypocrisy. Frederick Douglass was a former slave. He taught himself to read and write at a young age, and years later he started his own newspaper called “The North Star”, and ended up writing and editing most of the articles himself. Another thing he

Throughout the 1800’s, slavery was a very widespread and common thing in all of the United States. In Tennessee, though, there was a large amount involvement in slavery. Almost all the African Americans living in Tennessee were slaves, and about ¼ of all people living in Tennessee were slaves. Throughout the entire state of Tennessee there were more than 275,000 slaves, and they made up ¼ (25%) of the population. 25% of white families owned slaves, and while these families made a large portion of the population, most families owned a small number of slaves. There was one person in Tennessee who owned more than 300 slaves, 47 people owned more than 100 slaves, and more than ¾ of all slave masters held less than 10 slaves.

Frederick Douglass wrote the, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”, in 1845, a time when many Americans questioned the concept and practice of slavery. Douglass’s book helped the anti-slave movement by “humanizing” the life of a slave. The Narrative revealed the Douglass’s intelligence as well as the moral and economic nature of slavery. Douglass helped the Abolitionist movement by speaking in front of groups both black and white. Douglass zealously argued against slavery using biblical scripture, the Declaration of Independence, and laws for slaves as examples of white hypocrisy.

How many of us actually know what slavery means? We all know it happened during the 1800's, but no one really knows the definition of the word. For all we know, it could still be happening. Slavery is the owning of a person who is practically property. People who own slaves control them so they earn profit from their work. Back then, slaves were primarily African-American and were shoved on a boat into the New World. Nowadays, the word "slave" can be used for people who are overworked and underpaid. Even though slavery legally ended in 1883, people are still being affected by the same tactics fueled by vulnerability and lack of stability.

The controversy of racism scorches Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass himself. Douglass unveils the atrocious truth about slavery that was hidden for so many years. Every beating, every death, every malicious act was all recorded for the people of the U.S. to finally see the error of our ways. The short essay, Slavery as a Mythologized Institution, explains how people in that time period justified the disgusting behavior that was demonstrated regularly. Religion and intellectual inferiority were concepts that were used to manipulate the minds of everyone around into believing that practicing slavery was acceptable. However a very courageous man, Frederick Douglass challenges those beliefs. Douglass debunks the mythology of slavery in his narrative by rebuking the romantic image of slavery with very disturbing imagery, promotes his own views on the intellectual belief of slaves, and exposes the “system” for promoting the disloyalty among slaves.

The wife of Douglass’s master began teaching him to read as he was just a boy at the time and he appealed to her humanity. When Hugh Auld, Douglass’s master, found out about what his wife was doing he became livid and forbade her to teach him anymore. Auld said that if she taught him to read he would become “…unmanageable, and of no value to his master.” And that it would make Douglass “…discontented and unhappy.” (Douglass, 20) It was at this moment that Douglass realized “…the white man’s power to enslave the black man”

It is unacceptable to auction off citizens just for their nationality just because they are another race doesn't mean that they are not a human being too. Slavery was a massive topic in the 1700s-1800s because it was not meant to be a defective situation. There are a collection of similarities and differences over the two articles “ West African country struggles to come clean on its role in slavery ” by the Washington Post, “ Time Machine (1846): A slave auction in New Orleans ” by Northrup. In the same way the two articles are similar and different.

The above collage is composed of images that represent different things that people used to justify slavery in the United States in the 1800’s. The image in the top left depicts a presumably African American man with a very cheesy smile. Slaveowners sometimes said the the slaves were happy and enjoyed being in slavery. They would argue that outside of slavery African American’s might not be able to earn a consistent living. The happy man shows that they thought slaves were delighted with slavery when, in fact, they were not.

Frederick Douglass was an African American writer, abolitionist and slave for a period of time. In the 1800’s, Frederick Douglass was considered a slave and was treated with no freedom. In the 1800’s, slaves did not have equal rights compared to white people, instead they were labeled as three- fifths of a person. Slaves did not have freedom as a person, for example, their speech, choice of clothing and living, which is seen as universal.

When Douglass was seven, he was sent to work for a new set of masters in Baltimore. He later reflects on this saying, “I look upon my departure […] as one of the most interesting events of my life. It is possible, and even quite probable, that but for the mere circumstance of being removed from that plantation to Baltimore, I should have to-day, instead of being here seated by my own table, in the enjoyment of freedom and the happiness of home, writing this Narrative, been confined in the galling chains of slavery” (Douglass 46). This is where Douglass’ education would take root, and he is uncertain how his life would have gone if it had not. In Baltimore, his new slave owner’s wife, Sophia Auld, who had never had a slave before, began to teach Douglass how to read. Her husband finds out and enraged, makes her stop, as it is illegal in the State of Maryland. This goes to show the intrinsic link between literacy and freedom. Lawmakers knew it could open new doors and allow slaves to see that the organization of society does not coincide with slavery. Douglass hears his owner berating his wife, “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning will spoil the best nigger in the world. Now if you teach that nigger […] how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (20). Cut deep by these words, Douglass says with deep emotions that, “It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my

As the most famous abolitionist African American leader, Fredrick Douglass is a political, historical, and literary figure whose words still reverberate the true meaning of freedom and political, economic, and social equality for all. Born a slave, Douglass was able to recount his story to a pre-Civil War American public, which had a tremendous effect on the views whites had about slavery and its role in American society. Douglass became a self-educated man as he grew up within the entanglements of slavery, but as a child he did not realize the effect that knowledge would eventually have on his life. His mistress, Sophia Auld, began teaching him how to read until his master Hugh Auld warned her against its effects on the regression of Douglass’s quality as a slave. In his renowned autobiography, Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, published in 1845, Douglass uses well-developed literary techniques in order to communicate his philosophical ideals about the institution of slavery and the inhumane horrors and depravity African slaves in the United States underwent. Douglass’s literary success allowed him to become the most famous spokesperson for abolition, and although he faced strong resistance from anti-abolitionist and pro-abolitionist groups, his perseverance allowed him to “[present] himself as a representative American whose rise to prominence spoke to the promises of the nation’s egalitarian ideology” (Baym 934).

Due to the many murders and mistreatment of people, slavery is one of the most horrific event that occurred in American history. However, subjection in the classroom is rarely discussed and that is why the public should be aware of the rape, abuse, malnourishment, and separation of families that occurred during the 1800’s. Having the people aware of the brutality that was given to Africans during the time of oppression can give people an understanding of the horrible things that were done during the 1800’s. It also shows what some people went through just because of their skin color and their race/nationality.

As a child, Douglass escaped the harshness of field labor and was transferred to Baltimore where he was taught by a master’s wife how to literate. This opportunity of education allowed Douglass to become aware of the “social injustice” in America (Chiasson). Fortunately in 1838, Douglass was able to escape enslavement where he was later involved in the abolitionist movement. In order to abolish slavery, Douglass wanted slaveholders and Americans to comprehend the rigorous life that slaves had to undergo. By doing so, Douglass wrote narratives to enlighten white Americans the horror that slaves had to endure. With his “poignant and [natural eloquence]”, in 1841, Douglass describes his experiences as a slave at an antislavery convention (“Frederick”). As a result, Douglas presented himself as an agent for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and became the spokesperson for their society which progressed Douglass to fight for the abolition of

The most eminent reason that leads readers to the conclusion that this novel is racist is the ample amount that the deplorable word, “nigger”, is used to refer to those of African blood. The racial epithet “appears in the book more than 200 times” (Kakutani 1), and it was very commonly used in the American south as a derogatory term towards African Americans at the time. The fact that the book contains this demeaning word as often as it does would logically invite people to agree that the book is racially discriminatory, yet this can be no further away from the

Life under slavery: describe the plantation system, work and discipline, the slave family, longevity, health and diet of slaves.