Once slaves encountered Anglo owners, their lives during the time of trade became total nightmares. About 9,391,000 slaves began new lives in a place where they were not welcomed as people; they were used for work, and beaten on a daily basis. Slavery's existence soon became only legal in the southern colonies. Trading to receive slaves was both local and throughout the world. Imagine going from being recognized as a king or queen to becoming the topic of Anglo people's hatred. When someone is forced to do anything against their will today it is easily forgotten about, but in the early 18th and 19th centuries not doing what you were told (even if you did not feel it is right) could result in a severe beating or even death. Fear of being caught ran through every slaves mind and the simple fact was slaveholders lost thousands of dollars and workers when a slave's escape was successful.
In the case of Frederick Douglass, he was a slave who defied the odds and educated himself with the help of northern white people of all ages. According to his narrative, at the young age of seven, Douglass (or Bailey as he was known) was taken to Baltimore to work for a man named Hugh Auld. Auld's wife did not know how to mistreat a slave, so instead of beating him, she secretly taught him how to read and write, but was caught soon by her husband who eventually made her stop. This was a downfall for him, the one person he had on his side, traded places. She began to shun him and treat him as if he was inferior, making him only try harder. .
During this period, a slave learning to read and write resulted in harsh treatment. Slave owners and other Anglos felt that hindering Blacks from doing anything (reading, writing, and escaping) gave them the upper hand on life and freedom. Knowledge in a slave was the one thing that whites had over blacks. Since slaves were actually qualified as lowly and not quite human, the legal system judged them as less credible than their masters.