The Role Of Slavery In The 1800's

The chains of slavery during the 1800’s was a time in which forced human lifelong labor was at its peak of cruelty and popularity among the south. Slaves had to endure a hard life in which their whole lives were controlled by those who owned them. Their only hope, was to escape to the north and hopefully not be caught by the people that hunted them to bring them back to their masters.
Family life for slaves did not really exist. For one it was common custom for slave mothers to part with their children before they were one year old as they would be sold and then placed under the care of an old woman who could not work in the fields (p.18). Sometimes the slaveholder had the double relation of master and father. This occurred regularly which
When Douglass and his fellow slaves planned their escape, their plan was to get a large canoe and paddle it up the Chesapeake Bay. Once they paddled up for seventy or eighty miles they would then hike and follow the North Star till they got to the limits of Maryland. They wanted to take the water route because they would be less alleged as runaways. Since Douglass could write, he forged protections for himself and the slaves that were going to go with him. They were intended only to guard them while they were on the bay (p.83). Their plan was foiled and once they were arrested and questioned of their desire to run away they immediately neglected such a thought (p.86). Douglass did not approve of the Underground Railroad because he felt that they were doing little good by saying that the Underground Railroad existed. While he admired the people who risked their lives to get slaves to freedom he said they did nothing towards enlightening the slave and master about the evils of slavery. Stated that in promoting the Underground Railroad, they encouraged a greater vigilance of his slaves (p.94-95). Once Douglass was released from prison by his master, he was then sent to Baltimore to live with the master’s brother, Master Hugh (p.88). During his time here, he began planning his second escape attempt. While not revealed how he achieved freedom, he broke free from his chains on September 3, 1838 when he reached New York. To him, it was the highest moment of excitement he had ever experienced (p.100). He was now his own master, and no amount of hard work he had to do bothered him because it was for himself