How Does The Life Of Frederick Douglass Justify His Credibility

The story Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass is a tale of a colored man’s atrocious experience during his brief period in the shackles of slavery. His incredible sense of wit, ability to grasp knowledge, and amazing aptitude for strategy brought him to become an educated, free colored man who could share his appalling experiences with us today. Fredrick Douglass’s credibility can be questioned, for it is quite a difficult feat to be able recall every accounted-for incident that has occurred in his past. At least, for the purposes of Douglass’s religious persecution, Garrison answers this question for readers by assuring that, in one instance, Douglass’s words were “sustained by a cloud of witnesses, whose veracity is unimpeachable”

Douglass’s words that captured such “veracity” is his saying that “slaveholder’s profession of Christianity is a palpable imposture” (xiv). The strong declaration, which gained many witnesses, proves his first-hand experience with slavery and therefore, justifies his credibility, regarding his religious persecution. Through this, he proves that Christianity, as they call it, is an illicit form of religion bent toward justifying white slaveowners’ actions while praying for “heavenly union” (Douglass 106). In the following occurrences, Douglass provides insight into the religious masking that Christian slaveholders use to cover-up the unjust treatment of their slaves, shining light onto the misinterpreted cult they have formed to justify their crimes and the effect religion has upon the white dominant culture

In Douglass’s youth, after having changed many hands of Colonel Lloyd’s heirs, he finally landed in the treacherous possession of the late colonel’s son-in-law, Master Thomas Auld. After living few months with him, Douglass understood Auld’s true colors of lacking proper slaveholding skills and authority, as well as every other “noble” element of character any human is expected with. Soon, Douglass narrates his master’s incorporation into a Methodist church where “he found religious sanction” for his crimes (47). The kind of “cover-up” religion provides to promote the dehumanizing effects of slavery is ultimately horrifying and revolting. The white supremacists not only cause harm on their slaves, but also themselves, by convincing themselves of following a religion that doesn’t promote violence, whilst the opposite is occurs. Frederick directly relates to the slaveholders’ hypocrisy by explaining a Christian quote “translated” into normal English. He proclaims that the religious white slaveholders are “always ready to sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy” (Douglass 104). The abusive religious slaveholders are ready to sacrifice their time for Christian enlightenment, yet not to show mercy to the lashed and the abused. They much rather achieve their own growth and God’s blessings without a slightest bit of care or concern for their fellow “heathen” that