Frederick Douglass: Slave Life and His Constitution Views Essay

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Throughout reading “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” . one does non merely larn and detect the mundane norm slave life manner. Douglass incorporates his ain mental doctrines as to how bondage and society is ran during that clip by stating it from his ain first individual prospective. and he besides uncovers the immoralities that slavery fells. Slaves during the antebellum of the Civil War had faced non merely many physical menaces by their slave owner or maestro. but mental dangers every bit good.

Douglass’s Narrative demonstrates the dual intent of the work as both a personal history and a public statement. Douglass introduces the reader to his ain fortunes by stating his place of birth and the fact that he does non cognize his ain age. He so generalizes from his ain experience. explicating that about no slaves know their true ages. Next. Douglass takes this item of his experience and analyzes it. He points out that slave proprietors intentionally keep their slaves ignorant. and that this is a tactic Whites use to derive power over slaves. This is the construction Douglass uses in his Narrative. He presents his personal experience as a typical slave experience. and so normally makes a point about the experience and what it tells us about how slavery plants and why it is incorrect.

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Douglass intends to utilize the Narrative to expose the more evil bottom of bondage. He writes to educate audiences about what truly goes on at slave plantations. including more barbarous and destructive behaviours. For illustration. he devotes his Hagiographas to a treatment about white slave proprietors infusing their slaves. He does non seek to excessively floor his readers. He presents a pattern and explains how it touches on both slaves and slave proprietors. Despite the unjust intervention given to the female slaves. Douglass incorporates his ain experiences with the slaveholders’ destructiveness through the memory of his meeting with Edward Covey. From the clip upon his reaching. Covey beats him senseless for his so called “awkwardness” . Douglass doesn’t dwell on these cases throughout the class of his narrative. Douglass frequently returns to this subject. to picture the construct of bondage as abhorrent and dirty to non merely slaves. but the slave owners every bit good.

Douglass makes usage of the narratives of other slaves to do an statement about the inhumaneness of bondage. After Douglass recounts Mr. Gore’s slaying of Demby. he includes several similar narratives. such as Mrs. Hick killing her female retainer and Beal Bondly killing one of Colonel Lloyd’s aged slaves. These extra scenes serve to back up Douglass’s claims about bondage. Douglass is trying to convert Whites that the events he witnessed such as a white adult male killing a black adult male and enduring no legal effects are the normal pattern. Besides integrating the narrative of his aunt. and him witnessing the horrific whippings that had been laid upon her. He says. ” I was so panicky and horrified at the sight. that I hid myself in a stopping point. and dared non to venture out boulder clay long after the bloody dealing was over. ” ( page. 11 ) . This shows yet another illustration of how bondage can non merely be dehumanising to the slave holders. but besides affects the slaves mental province of head as good.

After get awaying the plantation and traveling on in his life. Frederick Douglass had begun his calling as an emancipationist in 1851. Upon get downing his calling. he had faced his positions towards the Constitution. His initial reading crossed that of another emancipationist. William Lloyd Garrison. Both the persons had agreed on many constructs. Both work forces started off by holding with the vision that the U. S Constitution was a pro-slavery papers.

When looking into the footing of the Constitution. the preamble states the basic rights of the mundane common citizen—- Life. Liberty. and the Pursuit of Happiness. Douglass and Garrison nevertheless looked upon it in a different manner. They had seen this papers as a “covenant denounce and an understanding with hell” which the two persons had said it compromised with the “tyranny of the slave owner. ” One can construe this to significance that the Constitution protected the slave holders.

Douglass makes the comparing in which that the slave owners used the Constitution as barrier for their beliefs. The two persons find Supreme Court instances to endorse up their cause. The instance in which is known as the Dred Scott determination proclaimed that the right of slave proprietors to acquire keep their ownership of their slaves. even if they were illegal. This yet once more. was one of the cardinal grounds as to why many emancipationists such as Douglass and Garrison were to believe that the U. S Constitution was nil other than a Pro-Slavery papers.

Douglass had broken off to develop his ain separate positions over clip. To Douglass’s use. he had conjured a figure of addresss which he had advocated the positions of bondage to the white population by utilizing his ain personal experiences to make his strong message. In one of his well-known addresss. “What. To The Slave. Is The Fourth Of July” he confides in his audience how the Constitution is so a glorious papers. But the cardinal inquiry that is asked in the class of the address is merely. how do the slaves benefit from the papers? The simple reply to that inquiry was they didn’t.

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