How Did Frederick Douglass View Of The Slaveholders

Frederick Douglass was one of the brave slaves. Douglass sat back and obeyed his slaveholders until he could not take anymore. Slaveholders kept slaves from running away and loyal by instilling fear in them, making sure they knew little to nothing, and to separate them from their families. If a slave did not know what it was like to live lavishly, they would not want to escape. The slaveholders did everything they could to belittle the slaves, they had to make sure that they did not know their worth. They were treated like they were animals and worthless. Animals were treated and cared for better than the slaves were. Most of the slaveholders were not nice to their slaves on purpose. It was an act that made the slaves believe that

The slaveholders did not believe that they should know much. When Douglass was staying with The Auld’s, Mrs. Auld was teaching him how learn and spell. Mr. Auld did not approve, he stated, “A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master – to do as he is told to do” (Douglass 20). It was almost as if he thought that it would make him more than what he thought he was worth. Later, Mrs. Auld developed the same attitude and was even worse. Her husband instilled in her what he thought slaves were supposed to be. He made sure that she did not make them believe that they were anything more than what he thought they were. To Douglass, that made him want to learn even more. It sparked a new flame within him and made him want to prove Mr. Auld wrong. From the outside looking in, it is evident that the slaveholders were trying to keep the slaves away from anything good. If a slave could learn how to read or write, they could create a plan to escape. The slaveholders only traded their slaves when it benefitted them, the slaves did not have a say so. The only way they were disloyal was when they tried to escape. When it came to holidays, the slaveholders did not tell them that they should have the time off, being that it was a holiday. They all gathered around and joked about their ignorance towards it. Douglass seemed to see through all of the slaveholder’s doings. He was determined to get away

Douglass was separated from his mother and did not get to communicate with her often. He said, “unless it be to hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” (Douglass 2). When a child is taken away from their parents early on, they really do not know what love is there. It is harder for them to miss the relationship or even know that there was one. Their parents are not there to do what parents normally do. They are separated first hand so that they will not think that there is anyone out there who truly cared for them. For Douglass, he knew about his mom but he did not feel the normal mother to son connection. He thought it was normal to not be with his mother on a everyday basis. When he was not allowed to be there when she was dying or go to her burial, it did not have the normal effect on his. It did not throw him for a loop nor did he feel bad for not being there. The slaveholders probably separated families so that they could not team up and run away. They did not want them to connect with anyone or build enough trust. What the slaveholders failed to realize is that they would eventually build relationships with the people around them. If anything, being around each other made the process of being a slave go easier. They had each other to lean on and find strength in each other to withstand.