Essay On Enslavement In Frederick Douglass

Before the early 1840s, no one could truly comprehend the horrors and effects of enslavement. To the average southerner, it was a way of life. While in the north, it was more ambiguous in their view. The north’s view began to change when Frederick Douglass began to speak and write about enslavement and his personal experiences. He was one of the first enslaved people who displayed nuanced speech and intellectual thought. We can view these developments throughout his life, notably when he first learned to read and write, his time as an abolitionist orator, and when he edited for his newspaper.
When Douglass first arrives in Baltimore to serve the Auld family, he forms a special bond with Mrs. Auld as she raises Douglass for the first two years

Auld, he would frequently ask the boys he played with to give him lessons instead. During these interactions, he would lament about his situation and be consoled by them, affirming that even in the eyes of adolescents, enslavement was wrong. Yet once he learned to read and began to gain knowledge on anything, he became painfully aware of his enslavement and the seemingly never-ending bondage. To better prepare himself if the chance appeared to escape, Douglass resolved to learn to write to increase his chances of success. By copying letters written on timber and challenging his playmates to spell words, Douglass learned to write. To improve his handwriting he began to copy how words were written from a spelling book, Mr. Auld’s son’s copy books, and even engraving words on a barrel. Even with little prior experience, resources, or support, he was able to master writing and gain decent

Then during the summer of 1841, he attended an anti-slavery convention promoted by his friend Mr. Garrison (Douglass, Chapter 3, Part 2). After the meeting, he was invited to become a member. He accepted and enthusiastically began to canvas support for abolitionist newspapers. For the first few months, he mainly recounted stories from his enslavement. Douglass recounts, “‘Give us the facts,’ said Collins, ‘we will take care of the philosophy’” (Douglass, Chapter 3, Part 2). While his friends’ intentions were pure, they were content with him simply repeating his story and never thought to ask a former enslaved person their opinion on the movement and philosophy. Unsurprisingly, as time passed, Douglass became unsatisfied with a simple recollection of the wrongs in his life. Douglass states, “I could not always curb my moral indignation for … perpetrator of slaveholding villainy … for a circumstantial statement of the facts” (Douglass, Chapter 3, Part 2). Douglass was aware that his story was new to audiences, but he had formed new ideas inspired by his peers' philosophies, gained more experience as an orator, and felt he should do more to denounce enslavement. This growth had the unintended effect that people began to question whether Douglass was ever a slave. His appearance, behavior, and speech were opposites to the idea that