Who Stole The Cookie Jar, By Frederick Douglass

"Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [blacks]?” (Foner 1950). As Frederick Douglass proclaimed this to a crowd of five hundred attendees on July 5, 1852, he gained the attention of the spectators. Although he was invited to speak about what the fourth of July means for the Black population, Douglass accentuated much more. Frederick Douglass respectfully addressed how the nation is young, but can still undergo positive changes. In other words, Douglass articulated that the fourth of July is celebrating the white man’s freedom from tyranny of the British, but excludes justice for the Blacks. Rather than glorifying America for its “success”, the abolitionist

A typical example of this is from the famous picture book Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar? By Christine Scneider. Within the book, it is a mystery who stole the cookies from the cookie jar and it is accentuated that stealing is wrong, but there is no serious crime to the action. However, like the kids who took the cookies from the cookie jar, slaves also got hungry on plantations. However, they did not have free access to food. Frederick Douglass explains that slaves stole fruit when they were hungry from Colonel Lloyd’s cultivated garden. Slaves were caught stealing since the fences had tar on them (when a slave had tar on them, it meant they committed the act.) Consequently, the slaves were lashed. At times, slaves competed for food. Douglass mentions how children eat out of a corn mush, but have to get physical in order to get some of the food out of the communal trough. Later on when he lives with the Auld’s (1832), Douglass lets the horse loose, chases it, giving him a chance to eat a secret meal at the farm nearby. Other privileges slaves did not receive were that they did not have beds, did not get much clothing (only a long linen shirt) and a safe home. For Douglass specifically, he did not have to perform labor on the field since he was too young and not strong enough. However, he is able to take account of his surroundings, providing details on not only his experiences but also stories he is told about the overseers and masters. Furthermore, Douglass is not affected from moving off the plantation, such as when he is given the opportunity to live with the Auld’s (Captain Anthony’s son in law’s brother’s family) in Baltimore. It is important to understand that Frederick Douglass has no place that feels like “home.” Likewise, Douglass demonstrates the difference between country slavery and city slavery. Specifically, a city slave experiences life almost like a freeman, which