Goal to Abolish Slavery in the Autobiography The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass gives a first person perspective on the life of a slave laborer in both the rural south and the city. Frederick Douglass gave himself an education against horrible odds, and was able to read and think forever about the evils of slavery and good reasons for its abolishment. The primary reason for his disgust with slavery was its effect of dehumanizing not only the slaves, but their masters too. His main goal: to abolish slavery. Throughout his autobiography Frederick Douglass talks of the many ways a slave and master would be corrupted by the labor system that was so deeply entrenched in the south as a result of demand for cotton, and other labor-intensive crops. The master justified his actions through a self-serving religion and a belief that slaves were meant to be in their place. Masters were usually very cruel and self centered. Most had never been in the fields with the slaves. They didn’t understand the conditions that they were putting the slaves under. Being a slaveholder could make you inhuman and change your whole person. Frederick Douglass took a stand against it in his own way, he was self-reliant and believed what was happening. He stuck to himself and was always thinking about things. He never let things just pass him by, he took advantage of all of his opportunities. Being self-reliant especially in his time, is one of the greatest traits that someone can possess. According to Douglass, the treatment of a slave was worse than that of an animal. Not only were they valued as an animal, fed like an animal, and beaten like an animal, but also a slave was reduced to an animal when he was just as much of a man as his master. The open mentality a slave had was ... ... middle of paper ... ...ion: does nature lead to the source of all good? I believe that it does lead to some good, especially in this story but not all good. If we are prepared, I think that nature can teach us anything we may need to know. If you don’t know about something and you want to know, you go in nature to find an answer or to find the truth. Douglass also makes the point that the north was better off than the south despite its lack of slave labor. This stressed that even though the slaveholders thought they had to hold on tight to slaves because it was their only way of economic survival, the economy needed to be successfully restructured to provide freedom for slaves, which it was and it eventually freed the slaves. Abolishing slavery was one of the greatest stepping stones that our country has ever touched. It brought our country together and made us what we are today.

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