They justified their actions through passages in the bible. For example in Narrative by Frederick Douglas, "I have said my master found religious sanctions for his cruelty." (98) After his master had beaten a young women he would recite a passage from the bible "He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes." (99) This was a cruel misinterpretation of the Book that was meant to preach kindness and love to all. The Bible did not preach slavery, or the harsh actions that should be taken, but how to follow the laws of God. The master is not a human, but God, and the stripes that are whipped are not literal, but a figurative interpretation that stands for the punishment that will be taken in the after life if one does not follow God, the Master. The non religious masters were the least immoral. They could not justify beating the slaves through the bible, therefore becoming less inhumane. The pro slavery sympathizers also believed they were doing a just service to the southern society by keeping these "savages" in their place. They felt the slaves could not be successful in western civilization. Unfortunately, the convoluted logic cannot stand up because these "brutes" were not how they had been portrayed. This is shown in the lives of Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman. Frederick Douglass produced a newspaper, The North Star, which kept the moral issue of slavery in the public. (Huggins) These extraordinary few proved that slaves can be educated and cultured in Western society. .
Although the pro slavery arguments were somewhat persuasive, slavery was a disgusting inhumane practice. The work of cotton picking was exhausting, and when slaves were sick or tired they were beaten for not working hard enough. This is seen vividly in The Narrative through one of Frederick Douglas's accounts when he writes "He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until he was overcome by fatigue would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin.
In writing, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, author Frederick Douglas details his life story as a man born a slave and subsequent rise to freedom. ... Douglas uses very detailed descriptions of incidents that occurred in his life to himself and others that he witnessed to show what goes on when others are not watching. ... Specifically I like how descriptive Frederick Douglas is. ...
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas Frederick Douglas was born in Talbot County, Maryland around 1818. ... She dies when Douglas was seven. Douglas's father was said to be a white man. Douglas first master and Captain Antony; the Captain's overseer, Mr. ... Soon after Douglas turned against Covey and beat up Covey along with some other of slaves and Covey never touch Douglas again. ...
Such a man was Frederick Douglas. ... As is the case with most children born into slavery, Frederick Douglas was torn from his family at a very early age. ... Frederick Douglas had very little contact with his family during his childhood, as they had been packed and shipped to other places. ... Frederick began picking up newspapers and books around the house to read in his free time. ... Frederick Douglas wrote his autobiography the same way he lived his life. ...
Frederick Douglas was a great motivational speaker and skilled writer. ... Frederick Douglas is one of the most underrated scholars of all time. ... Fully educated men do not produce the same quality work as Frederick Douglas. ... Abraham Lincoln cared for the union and Frederick Douglas realized this. ... Blacks everywhere owe Frederick Douglas for his ingenious ways to abolish slavery. ...
Frederick Douglas said it perfectly when he said, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant." ... Frederick Douglas proved this point. ... Probably not, but Douglas managed to do so merely by wanted to know more. ... This proving that Douglas was human in possessing that ability. ... Douglas now did however. ...
Frederick Douglas "Frederick Douglas" is a poem of a black American and his perspectives during a time when blacks were slaves and had no civil rights to a time when they had freedom. ... The author brings a historical view of Douglas's past as a slave when he writes "this former slave". ...
Frederic Douglas For someone who was not educated in rhetoric, Frederick Douglas became one of the more prominent anti-slavery speakers of his day. ... From this point on Douglas dedicated his life to the emancipation and the elevation of his enslaved class (pg. 1084). ... The more Douglas learned, the more he craved to learn. ... Education to Douglas was his ticket to freedom. The sentence that seemed to grab my attention more than any other comes from Douglas" My Bondage and My Freedom on page 1075. ...
Frederick had a certain charm and was able to effectively articulate himself. ... In 1847, connections made in Britain had paid for his Freedom; Douglas was safe to return to America. Upon returning to America, Douglas totally immersed himself into the black slavery problem and became devoted to help in any and every way. ... Douglas was present at the first feminist convention held in Seneca Falls in 1848. Along with Elizabeth Stanton, a woman's rights activist and abolitionist, Douglas signed the Declaration of Sentiments that became woman's rights movement formal manifesto. ...
Fredrick Douglas was born some were between 1817 and 1818. ... Frederick gradually learned to read and write. ... Frederick began to detest slavery. ... Frederick was in jail for about a week. ... Fredrick Douglas brings you the real reality of life as a slave. ...
