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Historical development of slavery in the antebellum south
Historical development of slavery in the antebellum south
American history slavery
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Slave owners in the South were some of the most cruel and inhumane human beings out there. They used many tactics to maintain a prosperous system of slavery amongst them. Like many, Frederick Douglass was born a slave. Deprived of as much as possible, Douglass knew not much more than his place of birth. Masters were encouraged to dispossess slaves of any knowledge and several of them did not know their birthdays or other personal details of themselves. The purpose of this was to keep slaves as misinformed of anything other than labor as possible. Slave owners knew the dangers that would upraise if slaves became literate and brave enough to fight for freedom. Punishment was proudly displayed among the slaves to prove the consequences of defiance. …show more content…
They knew their power and used it to their advantage. Another awful injustice Douglass witnessed was the shooting of Demby. Shot for the simple act of disobeying, he was given a few verbal warnings before being bluntly shot in the face in front of many colored men to show the results of disregard to orders. (Douglass, 14) This would teach anyone to think twice before not listening, especially because these crimes would go unpunished. It did not matter how many witnesses were present if they were of color, their word was of no worth. Of course this taught men of color to respect their overseers as well as their …show more content…
He had long fought to learn to read and was so excited and eager to do so, he never expected the circumstances of this to be as dehumanizing as they were. He regretted learning to read because it brought him nothing but desperation, he learned his awful truth and that of his fellow slaves. "It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy." (Douglass, 24) The truth was that the more he learned the more he became aggravated, he knew there was not much he could do. It brought his moral down along with many other feelings, even a slave like Frederick had learned the awful feeling of
Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that an education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054). He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054). Douglass discovered that the “white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2054) was in his literacy and education. As long as the slaves are ignorant, they would be resigned to their fate. However, if the slaves are educated, they would understand that they are as fully human as the white men and realize the unfairness of their treatment. Education is like a forbidden fruit to the slave; therefore, the slave owners guard against this knowledge of good and evil. Nevertheless, D...
During the 1800’s slaves were brought to the thirteen colonies from the Atlantic Slave Trade to work without or little amount of pay and do nothing more or less without the guarantee of freedom. Slaves were dehumanized every way possible from refusing to take orders, to not being able to do the job and from religion belief according to the slave-owners. Frederick Douglass, born in Tuckahoe (present day Maryland) experienced the wrath of slavery and more during his time serving as a slave for multiple families/masters. Son of a slave-owner, Douglass did not possess his own agency due to the fact his mother was a slave even though his father was a white man, a common occurrence during slavery to increase and own more slaves and at the same time
This imposed ignorance aimed to take away his natural sense of individual identity, and much of his human essence. As stated by Douglass, “slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.” (p. 1). Later on, as slave children grew older, slave owners prevented them from learning how to read and write, as literacy would awake their minds and would put them on a nearer condition of that the slave holder and overall, the white people. Such “threat” was well known by the slaveholders who understood that literacy could potentially put a slave in contact with readings that would give him arguments to question the right of whites to keep slaves. By keeping slaves illiterate, Southern slaveholders maintained control over how the rest of America perceived slavery. If slaves could not write, their side of the slavery story could never be told. Ignorance was the wall used by slave owners to hide their atrocities against innocent human beings; women, men and kids used as carnage during their entire
Ever since the day he was born, Douglass had constantly been in slavery. He was often treated terribly and remained held until the age of 20. When he started doing is successful speeches, he told multiple stories of what happened during those times. One example of this was when he saw a cousin and an aunt get beaten by their masters or overseers. Douglass and his family also were constantly hungry and were mistreated severely. The way that Douglass was even able to write down and speak of these horrible days is because of the fact that is mistress taught him to read from the age of twelve. She continued doing this, until her husband believed that it would spoil him and told her to stop. It eventually went on to create the powerful speaker many have known of, and was a very important part of Douglass’s
... and unhappy (Douglass 78).” Learning how to read was as big a step towards freedom for Douglass as it was back. It made him aware of the circumstances but it also made him realize how difficult it would be for him to ever find himself a free man. However, knowledge overpowers ignorance in the sense that his masters could never take his ability to read away from him and because Douglass now knew his condition, he knew that he deserved a better life.
Douglass’s mistress only taught him three letters within the alphabet. Only learning three letters from alphabet and teaching yourself the rest, is really insane. If I was only taught three letters then it would've been extremely hard me to learn it all by myself. It takes patience and other skills to achieve this go. I believe Fredrick Douglass is an influential man due to his circumstance. He took a negative statement about slaves and used it as energy boaster to push him to succeed. Douglass put his life in jeopardy because he was teaching himself how to read and write. Usually when slaves try to educate themselves, they get punish from the slave master. They either get wiped or a finger chopped off. He wanted to prove that he will educate himself and become somebody. If I was only taught three letters it would've been extremely hard me to learn it all by myself. Fredrick Douglas mistress gave him a small foundation which led to him building a pathway to
Throughout the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass himself, the reader is given thoughtful insight into the slave condition and the institution of slavery as a whole. One learns very soon of the authoritative and controlling nature of the slave master, who, using the overseer as his pawn, is able to maintain control over his slaves and his planation through an amalgamation of both physical and mental abuse. Slaves are lead to believe that they are innately inferior to whites and are kept ignorant, unable to read or write, and unaware of the world outside their plantation. They are indoctrinated from birth through fear, for if any slave deviates from this merciless power structure, they face brutal punishment and even the possibility of death. Despite this seemingly insurmountable reality, Frederick Douglass, a slave for over twenty years, was able to resist. He gradually became aware of the psychology of the slave owners, and the immense power that they wielded. Douglass was able to escape the oppressive, exploitative, and controlling power structure of slavery by resolving to overcome his forced ignorance, and to unite his fellow slaves, realizing, along the way, his sense of self and innate integrity.
In particularly, one thing Douglass through light on was the slave’s conditions in human needs that were not being respected. “Much of the American South believed that slavery was vital to the continuation of its livelihood and lifestyle and therefore defend the institution of slavery,” (Pro-Slavery Arguments in the Antebellum South.) Slavery supporters wanted to keep slavery to keep hold of there good lifestyle, but while they were living grand the slaves human needs were not being respected which is something Douglass had to bring light. “Children from seven to ten year old, of both sexes, almost naked might be seen at all seasons of the year,” (The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, p.g. 6.) Slave children were not getting the basic human need of clothing and couldn’t even get that simple warmth at night. “They find less difficulty from the want of
In Fredrick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglass tells of his journey to become literate. By doing so as a slave, this was not only a dangerous feat, but a remarkable ordeal. Though Douglass had some help, he took control of the situation, and, in his own life. Douglass believes that the most “valuable bread of knowledge,” is being able to read and write. This allows Douglass to obtain freedom in a way that is acceptable for him. Not only that, but with the freedom, he can now learn about the world around him. While the grasp of the new environment excited him, there were times when his knowledge hurt him. This is evident in paragraph seven. Douglass mentions how when he was “regretting my own existence,” he then listened closer to the discussions of slavery. He heard the word abolitionists used in multiple contexts, and he made it his goal to learn what the word meant.
Slavery is one of the worst human tragedies of all time. People were subjected to forced labor and inhumane treatment as a function of their appearance and origin. The subjection was independent of the parentage. Even children fathered by whites were subjected to the same treatment as the rest of the slaves. Slaves were the property of the owners. As such, slavers did with the slaves what they desired. Cruelty was used to create submission and send the message that slaves were only valuable provided they offered valuable service to the masters. The life of a slave was dependent on the willingness to follow the orders. The narration of the life of Frederick Douglas creates the impression that slaves lived in total submission to their masters;
A slave acquaintance of Douglass. Is highly superstitious and stands in the Narrative as a representative of all uneducated, superstitious slaves. She is kind to Douglass when Douglass runs away from Covey's, but the Narrative also implies that she may have informed William Freeland about Douglass's plans to escape; gives Douglass a root to keep him safe from harm.
In the essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass illustrates how he successfully overcome the tremendous difficulties to become literate. He also explains the injustice between slavers and slaveholders. Douglass believes that education is the key to freedom for slavers. Similarly, many of us regard education as the path to achieve a career from a job.
Douglass shows how white slaveholders kept their slaves ignorant. At this time, many people believed that slavery was natural. They believed
He was the son of a black slave and an unidentified white man born into slavery and escaped in 1838. Born in Tuckahoe, this slave went through trial and tribulations and is one of the most distinguished black writers in nineteenth-century American literature. His name is Frederick Douglass. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Frederick Douglass uses his mental strength to overcome his struggles against slavery, to prove that slaves were not inferior, and to gain his freedom. Douglass wrote this narrative to show the truths of slavery through his eyes. His current reputation of being a powerful and effective writer
Americans value their freedom, their right. They have fought for their freedom. They fought for the thing they believe in but after the fight was over did they really get their freedom. By comparing and contrasting, Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the slave is the fourth of july” and, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's “Declaration of Sentiments of the Sens Falls Women's Rights Convention. Argues that America was established as a free country, that freedom should be guaranteed to all. Although they argue for the rights of different groups of people, their struggles for freedom and equality are much in the same.