Div Dasani Mrs. Stauffer AP Lang- 4 29 September 2014 Ninety Dollars: that is the average cost to purchase a slave today. In contrast, the price used to be upwards of $40,000 in current monetary value in the late 1800’s. This malpractice of putting a price on a human being is unethical and its termination is essential for the betterment of society. For this reason, Frederick Douglass’ assertion in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is correct in that slavery is iniquitous; it is not only corrupting the slaveholder in regards to power but is degrading due to its exploitative nature as well. Slavery in antebellum America was not black and white. Although a majority of Americans in the North opposed slavery and a majority in the South advocated it, there was a large minority of the population that was indifferent. These individuals believed that Slavery was simply a way of Southern life, and thus had no moral strings attached. Frederick Douglass wrote his narrative to convince people of the evils of slavery. …show more content…
For example, consider the case of Sophia Auld. Douglass recounts an anecdote of his experiences with this mistress in Baltimore, stating that at first, Auld was benign, even going so far as to instructing Douglass the basics of reading and writing. When she was rebuked by her husband for these actions however, this mistress’ attitude toward her captive changed. She became harsh and hostile to Douglass, even resorting to violence to halt his progress in pursuing education. This sudden change of nature from benevolence to hostility can be attributed to greed caused by the corruption of slavery. Thus this practice of enslavement is unethical and