Frederick Douglass and Slavery

Harriet Jacobs asserted, “Slavery is bad for men, but it is far more terrible for women.” In contrast to Jacobs, slavery for women did not exceed or fall below that of men. The circumstances in which the different genders were treated did show some variations, however, the effects of slavery affected both men and women equally. Slave men and women all had one common goal and that was to enjoy the freedoms and rights as human beings amongst the Caucasian counterparts. Erik Foner, author of Give me Liberty! An American History, stated, “Black sought to make white Americans understand slavery as a concrete reality—the denial of all the essential elements of freedom—not merely as a metaphor for the loss of political self-determination.” African American fought collectively with both men and women against oppression from Caucasians.

The case also sheds a light upon the unequal slave treatment that already belittled the black, but oppressed black women even more. Celia’s story about the relationship between her and her slave master, Robert Newson, brought attention to the unequal protection laws for slaves. The story helps illustrate the realities of slave life in America and the personal choices slavery forced upon slaves and slave-owners. The outcome of Celia’s trial was an eye-opener that slavery was definitely inhumane, and help influence the prohibition of

Women who were enslaved during the slave period endured much suffrage. Not only were they the subject of chattel slavery, but some were also molested by their masters, for their own personal pleasure. In some cases, masters would pair “good breeders” together so their farm would benefit and they would have more slaves. This behavior would lead to force rape. The purpose of the book is to demonstrate how slavery crippled African American slaves from defending themselves due to oppression, particularly women.

Slave men experiences were different from slave women, who were exploited both for reproductive and productive reasons. Throughout the long years of slavery women were abused by their master, physically, sexually, and mentally, while men were abused physically and mentally. Not only did women suffer much harsher physical abuse, they were also sexually abused. Although, not suggesting that black men suffered less than black women under the oppression of slavery, only that gender considerations played a major part in shaping the task assignments given to blacks by their owners and in shaping the way in which blacks build relationships among themselves” (Jones 20). The lives of female slaves were a little more trying than that of a male slave.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement.

Frederick Douglass wrote his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. At this time, slavery was still very much a part of the South’s culture and economy; many relied on it for labor and a source of profit. Douglass’ story was published at a key time for the abolitionist movement; presenting the truth about slavery in a way that northerners could relate to likely garnered sympathy. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass conveys not only Douglass’ own experiences, but also the cruelty of slavery in general. The stories convey the deeper emotional and physical stress that enslavement creates in victims of slavery, and how antebellum America was affected by slavery at the time the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

A victim is a person who is embittered or tricked by someone else ("Victim - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary"). Victims of slavery are induced into slave-like corruption through deception, force or coercion. The enslaved are subjec... ... middle of paper ... ...were obligated to fulfill. The main purpose for Harriet Jacobs writing ILSG is to attack the specific role that slavery has played on African American lifestyles, also how the institutionalization of slavery permits a degrading behavior that has a negative impact on all African Americans. The special effects of slavery are due to the fact that when slaves were eventually freed they were not given any reintegration or help to be accustomed into the mainstream of society.

In “The Trial of Girlhood” and “A Perilous Passage In the Slave Girl’s Life” Jacobs’s narrative emphasizes the problems that are faced by female slaves. She shares the sexual abuses that are commonly practiced by slave master against young female slaves. She does this through revealing the unique humiliation and the brutalities that were inflicted upon young slave girls. In this narrative we come to understand the psychological damage caused by sexual harassment. We also realize how this sexual harassment done by the slaveholders went against morality and “violated the most sacred commandment of nature,”(Harriet 289)as well as fundamental religious beliefs.

This shaped this perception of the black female in a negative light. From a child he was thought that a female slave knows nothing in her life but suffering. Another horrifying account that Douglass gives in his narrative is the story of Mary and Henrietta. It seems that each story is more gruesome that the last. Douglass writes about the horrible situation in great detail explaining how “of all the mangled and emaciated creatures [he] ever looked, these two were the most so (371).” This example showed how dehumanized female slaves were.

When the African slaves were being brought to the United States of America, this caused the African family structure to be completely shifted since the slaves were being separated from their personal family members back in Africa. This displacement of the black family seemed to have back in slavery times and has somehow continued under later social deprivation and also economic deprivation (Williams 200). Although while some slaves were able to work in the fields some were back then known as “privileged” of working inside the home of the plantation owner. B... ... middle of paper ... ...es (both female and male) were often subject to exploitation during slavery; however female slaves received worse treatment due to the fact that they were black and female. Their gender allowed both white and black men to violate at any given time.