Chapter IV

“No matter how innocent a slave might be–it availed him nothing, when accused by Mr. Gore of any misdemeanor. To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; the one always following the other with immutable certainty. To escape punishment was to escape accusation; and few slaves had the fortune to do either, under the overseership of Mr. Gore. He was just proud enough to demand the most debasing homage of the slave, and quite servile enough to crouch, himself, at the feet of the master. He was ambitious enough to be contented with nothing short of the highest rank of overseers, and persevering enough to reach the height of his ambition. He was cruel enough to inflict the severest punishment, artful enough to descend to the lowest trickery, and obdurate enough to be insensible to the voice of a reproving conscience. He was, of all the overseers, the most dreaded by the slaves. His presence was painful; his eye flashed confusion; and seldom was his sharp, shrill voice heard, without producing horror and trembling in their ranks.

This passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass resonated with me because it shows just how unfair, and barbaric the conditions were that the slaves encountered in America during the 1800’s. Even those that complain about the inequities in our current legal system would be taken aback at theses horrific revelations that prove American society has come a long way since slavery was legal less than 200 years ago. It is one thing to be accused of committing a crime, but it is a completely different story to not even be granted a trial or opportunity to plead your case. This passage suggests that merely being associated with any sort of wrongdoing was grounds for a guilty verdict, something that goes against everything the courts throughout our country stand for. In today’s legal system, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty; only after the defense and prosecution present their arguments can a final decision be rendered. However, Fredrick Douglas is implying that slaves were stripped of all their legal rights and deemed to be culpable even when there was no concrete evidence indicating that they were in fact responsible for what they were being accused of. Looking at this from a modern day perspective repulses me, and makes me question the values of the American people at that time in regards to slavery. Did the public really not know that slaves were being victimized and taken advantage of by their masters? Or were they simply ignorant and indifferent to the plight of these group of people? Regardless of the explanation, the mistreatment suffered by slaves in the 1800’s is a bleak period in our country’s history and reveals that we did not always hold individual legal rights in high regards like we do today.