Frederick Douglass - A Closer Look

The Narrative of Frederick Douglas encompasses the diabolical suffrage of a whole generation, the black generation. While certainly it is based on one man's eye witness journey of slavery from childhood into adulthood, it lends support to all those who shared in his suffering. It was a resounding cry for his humanity and those like he who shared in his plight, his brothers in sisters, all united, bonded through the devastating cruel act of slavery. Through skillfully crafted words, Frederick Douglass's compelling abolitionist argument sought to reach his audience of white slaveholders and non-slaveholders alike. Through his anger and sadness; he rightfully claimed the man he knew, who time and again, through the force of his white slaveholders, lie hidden under color, blood, and scars.

In the early years of Frederick Douglass's life, he was witness to many beatings, none at such a young age were his own; however, that would change as he grew. He knew he was quite different from a very young age. He knew that he stood out from other children as he pointed out; he did not know the date of his birth like white children. It upset him greatly, perhaps and I quite believe, this was identification of "being human," without a birth date, I believe he felt inhuman and his master's certainly had their ways of insisting that he was. This of course, was how his slave master wanted him to feel, it is how every slave master wanted their slaves to feel, inferior to the white.

Frederick Douglass used his words to reach those who would hopefully empathize with slavery and propel any attempts to eradicate slavery. In doing so, he would endeavor to tug at the heartstrings of many who found the treatment of slaves deplorable. In the beginning of Frederick Douglass's life, he tells of his aunt's beating by their cruel master. He pointed out in his narrative that he could still hear the shrieking coming from his Aunt every time the whip hit open wounds already inflicted from earlier beatings. It was almost more than he can bear. He details the abuse with such vigilance, pleading with those who would eventually read his narrative, to action. He continued to highlight the lack of remorse and the cruel manner in which, even after his aunt had nearly begged for her life, she had been beaten that much harder with every loud shriek of pain that escaped her lips.

The inhumane manner in which Frederick Douglass and the other slaves were treated did not halt at the end of the day. When a hard day's work is complete, one expects to climb into a soft, fresh, clean bed but that was not the case where Douglass and the other slaves were concerned. No, after a long day in the field or whatever labor had taken place among them, they found themselves committed to a cold, damp floor as their bed and rough "miserable" blankets to cover them. When it was finally time to go to bed, after chores had been completed, slaves would only get around a few hours of adequate sleep and woe to the one who failed to hear the call of his master at dawn.

Frederick Douglass was clearly a man within the confines of a body who couldn't seem to escape the chains that bound him. In one sense, he felt as every much a man should feel and yet, the deep bonds of slavery that bound him continually espoused that he was not a man. It was the feeling of being a man though that kept him ever vigilant of the need to escape and the need to recall memories and the way that people viewed slavery. He would later use these memories and his "abolitionist" views and contrast them with others who shared his same beliefs, that slavery was a sin. It was when he began to read the Columbian Orator, when he could that is, he came upon the word "abolitionist" and it quite intrigued him. He wanted to know more especially because he sensed that his master didn't want him to. I believe he felt like this word could lead to his freedom in some fashion; but he also felt that knowing how to read had been more of a curse as it gave way to his reality that he indeed was not really a free man; essentially it seemed there would be no remedy for his predicament.

He writes further along regarding his Master Thomas Auld, that for awhile he believed his master would change for the better as he started going to church but on the contrary, it would only make the man more fierce and indignant toward his slaves. He further explained that Mr. Thomas Auld would continue to justify his owning of slaves and the way he treated them to that of twisted biblical dogma. He states in his narrative that before the conversion, he knew his master depended on his own depravity but afterward; he used his faith as a backdrop and an excuse for what he was doing as many slave-owners did during that time. He would write, "I have said my master found religious sanction for his cruelty. As an example, I will state one of many facts going to prove the charge. I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cow skin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture--"He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes."

Frederick Douglass was indeed a man and a slave but he continued to advocate for his freedom in different ways. When he came to be with Mr. Covey, a "devout-Methodist God fearing" man, Frederick would be beaten constantly for his non-compliance. For Frederick, being non-compliant was his "abolitionist" moments of pure delight. Though he was caught between the lines of slavery and freedom, and though at times he didn't think he'd ever be free, he never gave up on the notion. Earlier, before coming to live with Mr. Covey as a payment to his Master Thomas, Frederick would try his hand at running for freedom, only to be caught and punished. This time, his only way to fight for freedom, so he thought at the time was to stand up against Mr. Covey when the time was right. The time was right when at once Frederick became ill in the fields and Mr. Covey commenced to kicking him and beating him up. Frederick had had enough and ran away back to his Master's store. He was sent back and though it seemed as if things were okay with Mr. Covey, they truly were not. Mr. Covey was a snake, a conniving man and he would soon show Frederick his dislike of his non-compliance, his running from him to his old Master. He would fight Mr. Covey, an expression of man coming out of him, the slave being left behind, is so briefly a thing as to show Mr. Covey he would not be taking any more brute abuse from him. It was a time when Douglass's fire from within, the fire that he thought had died had once again become embers of hot burning coals of desire, the desire to be free.

As it was, Frederick eventually went to live with Mr. William Freedman, a man very much different from Mr. Covey, his former slave master. Mr. Freedman was a non religious man and that pleased Frederick as he knew the southerners liked to hide behind their frail, religious justifications of slavery. He never felt better with his previous owners and he like Mr. Freedman. To Frederick, being with Mr. Freedman instead of Mr. Covey, was heavenly. But now that he'd gotten away with a year of no beatings and his mind was able to fathom the possibility of freedman, he would take it upon himself to get together the crew (the others who were slaves for Mr. Freedman) and he would devise a plan with them to run away to freedom. This of course, didn't play out the way it was supposed to. He would thus be caught and separated from the "family" he'd come to know and love. (The other slaves). He would finally end up back with his old master Mr. Hugh who hired him to a Mr. Gardner who was a ship builder. That didn't work out to well either as the white men on the ship looked as Frederick as a negative devaluation of their hard work. They were fearful that more blacks would take away their jobs, even the ones who didn't agree with slavery were fearful of this fact.

Eventually, Frederick would begin to be paid for his labor and although he certainly was still regarded as a slave, his road to freedom ever widened by these turn of events. He was already given a good amount of freedom to come and go to work, to earn somewhat of a living (his master took most of it) and he still kept his eye on the freedom train. He knew that one day he would indeed be free, free to tell his story to the masses. He did so, in 1838 follow freedom and ended up in New York. With Mr. Ruggles, a man he met who let him stay in his boarding house and helped him find work. Frederick Douglass was now a free man, in the sense of the word. He was a master to himself. He eventually married, and I believe ended up in New Britain for a few years before coming back and starting a family.

Frederick Douglass soon became a great orator, a civil rights activist. He had already been an abolitionist through his narrative but espoused to continue to write and keep the country aware of the devastating actions of slavery. Frederick Douglass learned from early on what it meant to be free and what it meant to have dreams about freedom. Through his early years he would be pushed and pulled, his thoughts would sometimes go against all that he knew was right and he would fall back into learned helplessness only to eventually realize that he was a man, a man who deserved to be free, who had the God given right to be free and that the twisted biblical doctrine that occupied the minds of most slave-owners did not mean that it was right or that it was from God.

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