Just think if a slave was on trial, the testimony of a black witness would never equal to that of a white witness. The slave's law began and ended with his or her oppressor. There was no beating considered unfair or too severe unless the master said so. No coerced sexual activity was rape unless the master said so and no killing was a murder unless the master said so. Even if the master decided in the slaves favor, he treated these incidents as crimes against his property rather than violations of human rights. .
In the introduction to Douglass" narrative, William Lloyd Garrison describes him as, " an ornament to society and a blessing to his race- (Lauter 1818), simply a man who made his way through life and a time that was against him. The narrative offers readers a first hand look at slavery from a male point of view and an inside explanation of slavery. As a fugitive slave, I feel Doglass is an authentic source for the truth about slavery. However, others (some Anglos) find it hard to believe that such an intelligent and articulate man could have been a slave. Many of the incidents included in the narrative are not just about Douglass. He also tells elaborate stories of how other slaves (even his own family members) were mistreated. One example would include his recollection of his grandmother being "put out to pasture" because of her old age. She was considered to old to be sold, so her owner made her go into the woods to live out the rest of her days. .
Life became hard for Douglass quickly and as he grew older, he became a highly revered abolitionist. Establishing his identity on his own term was crucial to both Douglass" career as an abolitionist and his own claim to freedom. People of all races considered Frederick Douglass to be a very persuasive spokesperson, with his vivid, insightful, and detailed stories of his great escape, he could make anyone in his audience feel as if they had been there during each incident.