Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave - Book Report/Review Example

Frederick Douglass “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” The first slaves were brought to America in 1619 and for the next two centuries, these slaves were at the forefront of America’s bid to lay the economic foundations of which she is so proud today. However by the mid nineteenth Century, the nation was almost torn asunder by the bloody civil war sparked off by the debate over slavery. Although the Union victory freed slaves, the legacy of slavery dogged American history through the years of reconstruction to the Civil rights movement. All this underlines the fact that enslavement is against the basic tenets of humanity and no human should have absolute control over another. It also serves to highlight the pain of humans who have no freedom and live in a constant state of fear. Above all it goes against the fundamental beliefs in the virtues of freedom, equality and justice for all that America is so proud of. As an expanding America became increasingly dependent on slave labor, slave owners brought in strict codes of behavior for blacks to prevent them from uniting against their masters. Brutal whippings, hunger and illiteracy served to keep these slaves ignorant and dependent on the mercies of their masters. Nat Turner’s revolt jolted slave owners out of their complacency. It strengthened their belief that blacks were barbarians and needed to be disciplined and kept illiterate. This increased repression led to the abolition movement led by free blacks such as Frederick Douglass. As Fredrickson quotes the historian David Potter who wrote more than forty years ago, Lincoln “always regarded the perpetuation of the Union as more important than the abolition of slavery.” (Fredrickson) However, finally in September 1862 Abraham Lincoln issued an emancipation proclamation that was made official in January 1863. Slaves were emancipated with the proclamation that “slaves within any State, or designated part of a State…in rebellion,…shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”(Lincoln) However racial discrimination continued to haunt America and finally gave birth to the Civil rights movement of 1960s that conferred on blacks the greatest political and social gains since slavery took root in America. Frederick Douglass, a man born into slavery, became one of the greatest intellectuals of his time. He escaped from slavery and married Anna Murray who helped in his escape. In 1845, he published his autobiography entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave which was translated into several European languages. Although the book became an immediate bestseller, many critics were skeptical that a man with no formal education could write so well. Although Douglass had escaped from slavery he was not free. He travelled to Ireland and Britain lecturing on the evils of slavery and his British supporters collected funds to officially buy him his freedom. He therefore became legally free in 1847 after which he was appointed to political positions and the crowning glory was that he became the first African American to be nominated for the post of Vice President of the US. Autobiographies such as those of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs give interesting insights into the lives of both slaves and their owners. In his life as a slave Douglass often compares slave holders and their attitudes towards slaves. Their views on teaching slaves to read and write, and of Christianity with regard to God’s will in relation to slaves. The effect of slavery on the family life of slave owners too is vividly depicted in this narrative; often revealing certain similarities in the compulsions among the women in both black and white communities. Slavery however was as detrimental to slave owners as it was to their slaves. “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is a saying which was very true of the slave owners especially in the south. (Acton) In addition to giving a free rein to the cruel streak in human beings, slavery served to erode the moral fiber of the slave owners. They took liberties with their female slaves which in turn disrupted the peace of the slave holder’s family life. Besides children born of slave mothers followed the condition of the mother. This law gave the slave owners the freedom to indulge in their lusts and also benefit as the children born added to the number of slaves they owned. Douglass observes the change in Mrs. Auld who was transformed from a “face beaming with the most kindly emotions;” and “a woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings”. He relates how “the fatal poison of irresponsible power ….. soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.” (Douglass Ch. 6 ) On the other hand, the slave was treated as a piece of property no better that the horses or sheep of the slave owner. In fact the sheep and horses were in a better position because at least they were well fed and groomed. The slave often went hungry and was worked so hard that for him the days and nights blurred into an unending agony of pain, hunger and discomfort from lack of proper clothing and warmth. Douglass refers to this as one of the most brutalizing effects of slavery, when “there were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrow examination.” (Douglass Ch. 8) Stephanie Camp notes that “enslavement in the American South meant cultural alienation, reduction to the status of property, the ever- present threat of sale, denial of the fruits of ones labor, and subjugation to the force, power, and will of another human being.”(Camp) Douglass often refers to the way slaves were passed from one owner to another with scant regard for the family feelings among the slaves, or the pain of mothers separated from their children. This is reiterated by historians and sociologists who believe that separation from family, in addition to hurting the slaves also encouraged them to run away or revolt. Thornton observes, “this power to break up slave families was certainly a destructive and disruptive force in the antebellum slave society”. (Thornton) One surprising element in this narrative is the attitude of white women to their slaves. These women were aware that their husbands were the fathers of many of the slave children born. Yet they did nothing to discourage their husbands or for that matter to put a stop to this flagrant disregard for the sacred vows of matrimony to which as good Christians they were bound. It however played havoc with the peace of their homes. Ingratitude of the slave owners to their old slaves for years of loyal and caring service is highlighted as one of the characteristics that cause most pain to the slaves. To be treated as less than an animal is bad enough but to have a dearly beloved family member turned out of her home to die in loneliness and pain is the most inhuman quality depicted in the book. Douglass recalls how his old grandmother who “ had rocked him (her master) in infancy, attended him in childhood, served him through life, and at his death wiped from his icy brow the cold death-sweat, and closed his eyes forever. She was nevertheless left a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of strangers.” He goes on to relate how “to cap the climax of their base ingratitude and fiendish barbarity, my grandmother, who was now very old……. her frame already racked with the pains of old age, and complete helplessness fast stealing over her once active limbs, they took her to the woods, built her a little hut, put up a little mud-chimney, and then made her welcome to the privilege of supporting herself there in perfect loneliness; thus virtually turning her out to die!” (Douglass Ch. 8) Slave owners often spoke of the songs that slaves sang, referring to them as a testimony to their happiness and contentment. Douglass begs to differ. He talks of these songs as being cries of anguish sent forth from the depths of a slave’s heart and a venting of his sorrow and despair; asking for deliverance from the chains that bound him. Douglass traces his first realization of the effects of slavery on the human soul to these songs. The constant fear of slaves rebelling as a result of becoming literate was at the back of every slave owner’s mind. It was considered unlawful and unsafe to teach a slave to read and write. Mr. Douglass recalls the pains he went to in his efforts to teach himself how to read and write. The first seeds of his thirst for education were sown in his mind by his mistress who began to teach him to read. However, his master’s rebuke to his wife sowed the first seeds of his understanding of what education could do for him. It revealed to him as nothing else could what gave the white man power over his slave. Thereafter there was no looking back and he employed every means within his power to educate himself. According to Douglass, “from that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom.” (Douglass Ch. 6) Douglass humbly acknowledges the inspiration for his quest for learning to both the beginning of his education by his mistress, as well as the bitter opposition to it by his master. The Christian virtues of compassion and kindness seemed as far from a slave owner’s heart as they are from the devil. All slave owners thought about was how much work they could get out of their slaves and with a minimum of cost to themselves. Hence slaves went hungry and cold, as Douglass observes, “A great many times have we poor creatures been nearly perishing with hunger, when food in abundance lay mouldering in the safe and smoke-house, and our pious mistress was aware of the fact; and yet that mistress and her husband would kneel every morning, and pray that God would bless them in basket and store!” (Douglass Ch. 9) He underlines the working conditions of the slaves when he points out that “we were worked in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard for us to work in the field. Work, work, work, was scarcely more the order of the day than of the night. The longest days were too short for him, and the shortest nights too long for him.” All this took place while slave owners professed to being pious Christians. Douglass further explains, “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,—a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,—a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,—and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection.” (Douglass Ch.10) However, as with all human beings, Douglass finds differences between his various masters showing how some of them were more compassionate than others. He compares two masters Mr. Freeland and Mr. Covey. The former according to Mr. Douglass seemed to “possess some regard for honor, some reverence for justice, and some respect for humanity. The latter seemed totally insensible to all such sentiments.” (Douglass Ch. 10 ) Douglass makes a comparison between a city slave and one on a plantation. There seems to be a stark difference between the two. The city slave was much better fed, clothed and almost never whipped. According to Douglass it is the non-slave holding neighbors who were responsible for the restraint of those who had slaves. These non-slave holders acted as a deterrent and brought pressure to bear on the slave owners to act humanely towards their slaves. However on the plantation each slave owner vied with his neighbors to be more feared by his slaves. In fact Douglass refers to some like Mr. Covey who prided themselves on being Negro breakers and slave drivers. Slave owners who murdered their slaves in cold blood were not held guilty in any court and were not even looked down upon by their friends and neighbors. In fact Mr. Douglass relates an incident where a slave was being whipped by the overseer of a farm. When the slave ran away to avoid the whipping and stood in a creek, the overseer killed him without a qualm and “argued that if one slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example; the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves, and the enslavement of the whites.” Mr. Douglass goes on to recount that “the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensured by the community in which he lives.” (Douglass Ch. 4) There are other such instances in the book that testify to the inhuman behavior of the slave owners. In every society, discrimination stems from the dominance of the powerful over those who are weak. Discrimination is as prevalent today as it was two hundred years ago. The forms may be different but the effects remain the same. Empowerment is the answer to discrimination and as Frederick Douglass found out, education is the key to a life of human dignity and equality. Empowerment comes from knowledge and knowledge is power. It is the surest way of improving our lives because no matter what happens it can never be taken away and it will always lead to new avenues of discovery and power. Works Cited Acton John Web 1 December 2014 Camp Stephanie “Closer to Freedom Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South” Chapter 1 “The Principles of Restraint” Web 2 December 2014 https://www.questiaschool.com/library/120065001/closer-to-freedom-enslaved-women-and-everyday-resistance Douglass Frederick “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave” Web 1 December 2014 Fredrickson George M. “Big Enough to Be Inconsistent: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Slavery and Race” Chapter 3 “Becoming an Emancipator” Web 2 December 2014 https://www.questiaschool.com/read/119313846/big-enough-to-be-inconsistent-abraham-lincoln-confronts Lincoln Abraham “The Emancipation Proclamation” Web 1 December 2014 Thornton, Mark; Yanochik, Mark A. et al. “Selling Slave Families Down the River: Property Rights and the Public Auction” Independent Review, Summer 2009 Web 2 December 2014 https://www.questiaschool.com/read/1G1-203026400/selling-slave-families-down-the-river-property-rights Read More