Frederick Douglas's Journey As A Slave

Upon reading “The Narrative,” I was embedded with the many horrid stories Frederick Douglas had expressed in his powerful novel of his journey as a slave. Never would I have imagined the many cruel punishments many African Americans had gone through in the 1800’s based on their race; it was inhumane, cruel, and sinful. As I saw the life of slavery thorough the eyes of Frederick Douglas, I was able to comprehend why he took brave action in making a change towards the corrupt society of the so called, “land of the free.”
Frederick Douglas can be described as a brave intelligent slave who overcame the hardships many others were not able to overcome. He used that freedom to accomplish his main goal, which was to educate people about what slavery …show more content…
At his first plantation, he witnessed cruel punishments done to slaves; separation from family members, murder, extensive labor, and starvation. These unbearable actions caused many slaves to feel inferior to whites. Because they felt powerless to their masters, slaves only saw one road in life; and that was to abide to the wicked regulations no matter the circumstances. At these early years, Douglas was able to acquire the idea that slavery seemed like a never ending nightmare. He understood that slavery brought a great amount of wealth to the south which is the main reason southern whites did not want to abolish slavery. Frederick Douglas was able to overcome the many negative outcomes of ignoring the roles of a slave by stating a new aspiration in mind, and that was to become a free slave. It was definitely a goal not many slaves wished to think of because of the horrid outcomes of being caught. His main points of going against slavery were that there was no point in living a life being considered property instead of an actual human being, slavery caused good people to do bad things, it was cruel, and slave owners used Christianity as a justification for their actions. It was definitely not humane to live a life of a slave. Through hard work and faith, Douglas was able to accomplish this goal many years after undergoing tyrannical treatment under the many white’s hands he passed …show more content…
In the “American Promise,” there was an understanding of why slavery was crucial in the south; the economy greatly depended on it. They were known as the “cotton kings” for their large production of cotton. This lifestyle had become the norm in the southern states, and the desire for expansion of slavery to the west was definitely visible. Even though the importation of slavery was banned in the United States, slave owners were able to cheat the system by enforcing natural reproduction among slaves. Instead of slavery eventually vanishing like the U.S. government had predicted, it caused a gradual grow. Slavery was a never ending issue among politics. Northern states were against slavery while it was the contrary in the south. This proved to be true for in “The Narrative,” Frederick Douglas had escaped to New York, a northern free state where he was able to start a new life as a free slave. After reading Frederick Douglas’s autobiography, I realized I had never experienced such hatred towards the oppression given by whites, and sympathy for the many African Americans who suffered at this point of life. It is safe to say his intention in writing this book served its purpose more than