Frederick Douglass Group Project

Frederick Douglass’s narrative (published in 1845) is in the form of a memoir that thoroughly documents his own personal life and experiences, specifically focusing on his experiences as a slave.

Slaves were brutally forced to work under horrible conditions for as long as their captor deemed fit. The most common occupation for these unfortunate souls were as farmers. Men and women worked their entire lives tirelessly with practically no leniency or breaks. God forbid if a slave would commit a mistake. Punishment was typically carried on by a person referred to as the overseer. These punishments were always severely damaging and the most common one inflicted was flagellation. Slaves were tied to trees and struck viciously by a whip until flesh stripped from bone. A child slave would purposely be separated away from their mother because slave owners believed that this would be the best way to control them – by replacing a slave’s family with themselves. Slaves had no beds, blankets, clothes, and barely any food.

The idea of teaching a slave was extremely revered. Slave owners did not want slaves to have any opportunity whatsoever to overcome their miseries. They believed that slaves must stay ignorant in order to be tamed. If a slave would be caught reading or writing then they would be given a punishment.

Frederick Douglass escaped slavery by crossing the border into the northern part of America. Slavery was outlawed in this region which meant that he was safe here. He later became an abolitionist – an advocate of the movement to end slavery.