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Slavery effect on american culture
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African american slavery effects
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Slavery effect on american culture
African american slavery effects
African american slavery effects
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To make matters worse, on top of the workload, they had to withstand many different multitudes of torture and pain given to them if their work was not finished properly or if they lagged behind. Another part that I found most interesting about this chapter were the sections in which they described the slave to slave-masters relationship as anything but hostile. On many occasions it was explained that slaves were treated as children, which though I realize is very demeaning in some instances, still surprised me, especially in Frederick Douglass’s case. His first masters wife, Sophia Auld, truly seemed to look at him and, at least in the beginning, even treated him as one of her own. It’s possible that this friendliness was due to the fact that Frederick was most likely the product of a slave and her own husband, but it still baffled me.
Jared Diamond in his book titled Guns, Germs, and Steel tells about certain places in the world having more geographic luck than others and thus causing them to prosper. During the Civil War the North and the South were warring over state rights and slavery issues. While the industrial revolution fueled the creation of new inventions such as the steam engine, the south refused capitalize upon these new creations. When the North grew and continued to grow in its industrial strength, they began to make themselves a world power, causing the South to continue to mostly produce cotton and several other agricultural crops. The South didn’t provide many new technologies which limited there economic effect on trade and production.
To start briefly, we begin the story when Frederick is still a young child working as a simple barn-hand in his master’s plantation. Later on he’s sent to live with his master’s relative, Hugh Auld, in Baltimore, where his new-found want of freedom is born. It is in Baltimore we he begins to educate himself in preparation of leaving one day. Unfortunately, when his master dies and his children as well, Frederick is sent back to live on the plantation where he hasn’t been since a child. His new master believing the city life has ruined him sends him to be reformed by a
However, he did not start to ponder what it meant to be a slave until he was what he guessed as 12 years old. He said, “the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart.” It made Frederick “regret his own existence and wish himself dead.” His status as a slave affected him greatly. Douglass was not able to learn traditionally in a schoolhouse so he decided to come up with his own way of learning to read and write.
The plantation owners worried that Frederick’s service was becoming a small army, so they came to the service with clubs and stones then stopped the congregation permanently. Frederick was moved to Edward covey’s plantation. Edward was known as the “slave-breaker”. He nearly broke Frederick psychologically, but Frederick fought back in a sense in his autobiography.
This force keeps slaves from giving simple comfort to their loved ones even at the time of death. This comfort was not spared for Douglass when his mother passed away shortly after her visit. Once Fred’s master had died, he was transported to Baltimore to work for Mrs. Auld. Douglass had been introduced to religion and public speaking, so he started teaching at a Sunday school. Master Thomas was not happy with this and forced Douglass to be “broken”.
At twelve years old Frederick did not trust the men (being white) but listened to what they had to say so he would know what to do when the time came. He mentions that, “White men have been known to encourage slaves to escape, and then, to get the reward, catch them and return them to their masters.” (Douglass) I could never imagine being twelves years of age and having to bear this type of burden from someone of a different race that was trying to help me out of a situation such as slavery. The men tell Frederick what an upstanding boy he is and they just wanted to help him understand that his situation could change drastically. At this point he knows that he will need to learn how to write as well so he could possibly write his way to
Frederick Douglass was a slave from Maryland who, through luck and intelligence, was able to escape slavery at 20 years old. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he describes how it felt being a slave throughout his childhood and adolescence, as well as the traumatizing conditions on plantations. Douglass also discusses how he learned to read and write, which causes him to consider his position in slavery and helps to inspire his escape. Nevertheless, once he arrives in New York, Douglass’s hope quickly fades as he is faced with the reality of his situation; he is all alone in a place where he could easily be caught and returned to slavery, making the efforts of his escape in vain. In the excerpt from his autobiography,
He grasped the oxygen and held it dearly. Learning symbolized survival and by twelve he was willing to follow the more difficult pathway to seek a better life. It took him three attempts to get away from his masters but, with the help of others he did by the age of twenty. Even though Frederick experienced a tremendous amount of physical and psychological pain he still wanted to help anyone suffering from the effects of slavery. Douglass wanted to make things better for his people and wasn’t going to give up until that happened.
He says, “I have said Master Thomas was a mean man—he was so—not to give a slave enough to eat” (Douglas 32). This is another example how the slaves are not well fed. Frederick says that all the slaves were worked to the point of endurance (Douglas 36). Before the sunrise they had to feed the horses and went off to the fields till the last ray of light has shown (Douglas 36). Then, they were given five minutes to eat, then by midnight they were in the field binding blades (Douglas 36).
Frederick Douglass was a slave for a total of 20 years until he escaped to the North on September 3, 1838. Douglass was in the care of his grandparents and then his grandmother abandoned him, leaving Douglass at Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. There, Douglass worked every day at the plantation and in the city of Baltimore, alternating every few months. While at Lloyd’s plantation, Douglass wore a sackcloth shirt, slept on the floor, and ate cornmeal every day. Douglass was put in the care of “Aunt Katy.”
After some time, Douglass escapes from his last master and goes to New York where he gets a fresh start in life. Frederick Douglass was a slave that was physically bound. At the beginning he did not think that it was possible for him to gain freedom from his life of slavery. It was during a battle that he got the determination to fight for his freedom and after several months, he was finally able to attain the same physical freedom that he had in his heart and
Frederick Douglass was a former slave, journalist, author and a human rights activist. In his autobiography, the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”, Frederick describes the inhumane and cruel practices of his masters, the conditions of the slaves’ clothing, food and sleep and their relationship with the slaves. Frederick’s first master was Captain Anthony. He draws him as a brutal man who brings pride and pleasure in beating his slaves.
Frederick discusses on how different slaves were bought and how they were drugged and separated from their family. There were home plantations in which the slaves worked and were kept. And all the instructions and laws for a slave. " Google."
The books he reads and knowledge he’s gotten has made him angry at other slaves with a lack of knowing what is going on. The life of slavery really just ruins your mind and thoughts, and makes you feel discouraged, but Frederick had the education piece in his life. In the text Frederick says, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed” (Douglass 54). With his newfound knowledge he starts to contemplate his existence. The hope of being free still pushes him, even if it may lead to death.