All Men Are Created Equal Frederick Douglass Chapter 2 Summary

Frederick Douglass was a slave who went on to write a narrative about his life. The Narrative of Frederick Douglass talks about life in slavery, the harsh conditions of slaves, and the cruel punishments they would receive if they disobeyed their masters or overseers. Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland. He had no real information about his age or birthday, nor would he be told. He continuously disproves the idea that “All Men Are Created Equal” in his narrative by talking about the horrible living conditions and the dehumanization of slaves. In the Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter 2 talks about the harsh conditions slaves had to endure. The conditions that the slaves face can help to disprove the idea that “All Men Are Created Equal”, an example of this would be when Douglass says “old and young, male and female, married and single, drop down side by side, on one common bed,—the cold, damp floor(31)” This can help disprove the idea that “All Men Are Created Equal” because all the slaves were forced to sleep together, with or without a bed, and no comfort whatsoever.

& Mrs. Auld. In this chapter, Mrs. Auld teaches Frederick how to read and write. When Mr. Auld finds out he is not very happy and states that it is unlawful and unsafe to teach a slave how to read; “Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read(51)”. This quote can help disprove the idea that “All Men Are Created Equal” because it shows that slaves are not allowed to be taught. After all, owners of slaves think it's a threat to them if the slaves know how to read and write. In the narrative, Douglass infers that slaves were treated the same as farm