How Is Frederick Douglass Life Different From The Life Of Slaves In The City

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass, there is a vast difference between the lives of slaves on the plantation and the lives of slaves in the city. In Douglass' experience as a slave he had entirely different encounters with punishment, money, and basic needs depending on where he was. Douglass was punished as a slave many different times in his life, but the punishment for different offenses changed depending on where he was. On the plantations it was very common for a slave to be whipped publicly for extended periods of time. The owners and overseers of the slaves had absolutely no problem physically punishing a slave if need be. "Mr. Severe was rightly named: he was a cruel man. I have seen

Slaves on the plantations would never make any money. Their work was work, and there was no pay. Even if a slave was somehow able to escape the plantation they could never last long without a penny to their name. In the south slaves worked in the fields and not in a trade, and a master would never dream of allowing a slave to keep any money that they did earn. In the northern cities, however, it was very different. A slave that did not work in the home would work in some sort of trade, and be paid at the end of the shift. The slave would then hand over all of the money to their master. Douglass did this for a while while he was living in Baltimore with the Ald's.
"Most of the town and city slaves are hired out, to bring in money to their owners. They often have the privilege of hiring themselves out, by paying their owners so much, at stated times, -say once a week, or once a month. Many of them are employed in factories and work at trades. They do very well, for if they are industrious, they can earn considerably more than is exacted of them by their

[. . .] after some reflection, he granted me the privilege, and proposed the following terms: I was to be allowed all my time, make all contracts with those for whom I worked, and find my own employment; and, in return for this liberty, I was to pay to him three dollars at the end of each week; find myself in calling tools, and in board and clothing."(Douglass 109).
Since this was allowed by Douglass' master, he was able to learn a learn a trade, and save up some money. Although he still had to give most of it away, he was able to save a little money that would later help him. This was a great opportunity that Douglass never would have gotten on the plantations. The basic needs of Douglass, and of slaves in general, were often never met, but this was not necessarily so in the North. In the South the slaves were not seen as humans, but rather as property. So the things that the slaves needed, like food, clothing, and education, were not given. On the plantations the slaves were given a monthly supply of food and yearly supply of clothing. Neither of these amounts would last the slaves as long as they needed