Frederick Douglass Followed In The Footsteps Of Their Mother

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Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and freed slave, covers many appaling aspects of slavery in his narrative, especially the heartbreaking topic of slave children. As the child of a slave woman and an unknown white man, Douglass himself was an example of this unfortunate circumstance and gives a tremendous amount of insight on the issue. As a child, Douglass saw his mother less than a handful of times before she died when he was seven. In “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” Mr. Douglass explains why slave children followed in the footsteps of their mothers: “The slaveholders have … by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done …to… make a gratification