Frederick Douglass Treatment Of Slaves

This was a heartbreaking and difficult to read essay written by Frederick Douglass on the treatment of slaves in early American history. Mr. Douglass was a slave to a very cruel man, one who would hardly give any sympathy or forgiving nature to the people working under him. Douglass describes how there was hardly enough food given to feed all the people and that he was left to be begging for food. At the same time Auld, the owner, and his wife were praising God and asking him for blessings. Auld would use religion as an excuse and reason to abuse his slaves, and abuse them he did. Without consistency in rules or desires, it was impossible for the slaves to know what to do and judge the reactions they would receive. Such an ambivalent behavior
in an overseer is something that causes a state of confusion and frustration to say the least. I don’t think there was one action of Auld that horrified or disgusted me more than the antecedent. All of his actions were demeaning, cruel and unnecessary. To treat people so harshly, even beyond the cruelty imposed upon animals, is completely unforgivable. It is painful to think of the circumstances the colored people of the time were living in. It was a world of relentless and unnecessary cruelty. Children who were born to the slaves brought over from different countries remained slaves. These children grew up in slavery and died in slavery. It’s hard to imagine how backward a person's mind must be to somehow believe that those actions are acceptable, and even more so to believe those actions were a desire of God. On a side note, Frederick Douglass writing was exceptional. It was descriptive and eloquent without being overbearing. It’s amazing to think that he grew up in such horrid conditions and still managed to maintain his humanity and that he took the time to develop and cultivate intelligence.