Frederick Douglass Letter

I am writing you today to inform you on an important issue we have talked about. Remember when we talked about how the idea of slaves holding in the south probably wasn’t a pleasant idea? Or how the treatment of slaves couldn’t be that bad? Well, I am writing you this letter to inform you I have now became an abolitionist. I have come to the conclusion to become an abolitionist because I have taken the time to read the “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”. In his biography, he explains the hardships of slavery, and it was actually a horrifying, terrible life that these slaves had to live everyday with their slaveholders. The things that happened to them that I read made me sick.

One reason I decided to be against slavery is the fact that their rights to food, clothing, time for sleep and sleeping headquarters were very limited. Honestly, I thought since the slaves worked all day with no pay, their owners would at least have the decency to give them at least some time to sleep in a somewhat nice cot or at least a warm blanket and hay. Maybe be generous and give them some new clothes every few months or whenever clothes got ripped or soiled. However, my thoughts were changed when Douglass explained “no beds were given to the slaves, unless one coarse blanket is considered such, and none but the men and women had them” (pg.6). They slept on the floor. The slaves didn’t consider having a blanket a privilege however. They would rather have the time to sleep, rather than having something to sleep on or a blanket. So basically, they were deprived of a bed for sleeping and very much deprived of sleep. Slaves were up early and very late nights working in the fields or other tasks. Let alone in the cold winters, they had nothing but their little clothing provided to keep themselves warm. Slaves were provided with little clothing, and had to work for their masters in order to get clothes. Slaves had a time once a year, where some clothes were provided. In their yearly clothing, they got 2 shirts, 1 pair of pants, shoes and a pair of socks. He also explained that children that were not working in the fields, they were given two (not very warm) shirts. If something happened to those, children went naked. Imagine just seeing a child shivering and possibly dying because of having no form of clothing protection in the winter. When food is brought up, I thought slaves got maybe one meal a day and a small snack like bread or something while working in the fields. However, slaves got monthly food. Slave owners wanted to feed slaves as little as possible, just enough for them to function. They often had to steal food from the plantation, or from the house hoping not to get caught considering it wasn’t allowed because their masters already provided them with what food was “necessary”. Children were fed like animals, fighting with the rest for their share of corn.

I knew there had to be some sort of punishment went it comes to slaves not obeying their master. I mean, they are the slave owner’s property, you know? What I thought was nowhere near what I thought happened. Maybe they were to get no food or worked more that day of their doing. However, Frederick not only got some physical abuse of his own, but I also think he got some psychological abuse from seeing it happen as well. Frederick Douglass explained that while he was on a plantation with his aunt, he had seen her naked, screaming and getting whipped bloody. How horrifying for him to have to go through that, not being able to help your aunt. It is probably something he re-lived