The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass - 2033 Words

Slavery was an embarrassing time in America’s history. In 2016, slavery has become a distant memory. It’s easy for us to admit that slavery is wrong but, in Frederick Douglass’s time no one thought that it was. Frederick Douglass went on to write books and give speeches in hope that one day all slaves would be free. In the book called â€Å"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass†, he attempts to shine light on the American Slave system in the 1800’s. Frederick Douglass believed that slavery was terrible for slaves. Douglass was born in Talbot County, Maryland. He was separated from his mother at a young age. He had no accurate knowledge of how old he was. His mother was also a slave. He recalled only seeing his mother five or six†¦show more content†¦Douglass’s position on slavery is that slavery corrupts slave holders. Colonel Lloyd kept three to four hundred slaves on his plantation. To him this was a great business place. The slaves, in return, did not receive much. The slaves were poor, they barely had enough clothing for a year and they wouldn’t receive any more until their next allowance day. In Excerpt 2, Paragraph 2, it states, â€Å"Here, too, the slaves of all the other farms received their monthly allowance of food, and their yearly clothing. The men and women slaves received, as their monthly allowance of food, eight pounds of pork, or its equivalent in fish, and one bushel of corn meal. Their yearly clothing consisted of two coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, like the shirts, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, made of coarse negro cloth, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes; the whole of which could not have cost more than seven dollars.† Douglass is trying to disprove that slaves are being treated fairly. The evidence shows that they are not because slaves don’t receive much food or clothing until their next allowance day. This shows that slavery was bad for slaves and it corrupted slaveholders. Frederick Douglass believed that slavery corrupted slaveholders because it could turn a kind hearted woman into a demon. Frederick was chosen to move to Baltimore and it opened the gateway to all of his subsequent prosperity. When he meet his mistress he