Frederick Douglass ( Summary)
(This detailed summary will help you to write very good answers in the examination )
Birth and childhood:
Frederick Augustus Washington Baily was born at Tuckahoe, near Easton in Talbot County in Maryland ( a state in the USA ). He was born to a slave woman known as Harriet Bailey and a white man Captain Anthony. This man was both father and master. As slaves inherited mother's family name, Frederick was a Bailey. His grandparents were also coloured ( Negroes) and slaves.
Separation of mother and child :
Frederick was just eleven months old, when he was separated from his mother. This was a practice among slaveholders to separate a mother from her child before it was one year old. The reason for doing this was to destroy the family bond. Slaveholders feared that unity among slaves would lead to rebellion and that would be dangerous for them. So, they used to break the family bond. Captain Anthony was not a kind man. Frederick heard from the elders that Captain Anthony was his father. But he was not sure of it because he could not ask his mother about it. She died when Frederick was seven years old. Even if he was sure about it, nothing was going to change because white men never accepted blacks as their sons even though they were born to them. The masters exploited (misused) the black women by using them to satisfy their lust. Besides, they made it a profitable business by producing slaves from those black women.
Frederick's wish to know his birthday :
As a boy, Frederick used to see the children born to white parents celebrate their birthday; he too was eager to know his birthday. But whenever he tried to know about his birth date, he faced disappointment and became unhappy. He wondered why it was kept a secret. He thought why he should be deprived of the privilege of knowing his birthday. But no one told him about it and there was no authentic record. Inquiring about birthday was regarded as improper and impertinent and a sign of a restless spirit. So, no slave knew his birthday. Some of them told roughly as cherry time, fall time, spring time or harvest time of a year as their birth time. Once, in 1835, Frederick had heard Captain Anthony saying that Frederick was seventeen then.
Harriet Bailey 's secret visit to her son :
Harriet Bailey was hired out to Mr. Stewart whose farm was twelve miles away from Tuckahoe. This was a cunning plan to make sure that she should not try to meet her son. This was done to all the mothers. Yet, Harriet walked twelve miles at night and met her son. This happened only four or five times in her life. In the darkness, Frederick couldn't see his mother properly. Those were secret visits. She had to return before sunrise lest she should be punished severely. Frederick came to know about her illness and death after many days. He could be with her neither during her illness nor at her death. When he heard about her death, he did not become sad because there was no affection for her. This shows that the plan of the masters to separate the child from the mother worked out for them.
Life in Baltimore, A step towards freedom :
After the death of Captain Anthony, Frederick was sent to Baltimore. There, his master was Thomas Auld. Frederick was lucky to be here because his master's wife Sophia taught him reading and writing for a few days. But when Mr. Auld came to know about it, he warned her not to teach anything to the slaves. So, Frederick continued to learn on his own and became educated. This helped him in escaping from slavery and work for the emancipation of slaves.
Though it was quite risky act, he ran away from Baltimore and hid himself in New York City. He joined anti slavery movement. He married Anna Murray, a coloured woman and then changed his name to Frederick Douglass. He wrote some books and several articles. Books notable are, 1. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 2. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. 3. My Bondage and My Freedom. He became a very good orator. His courage and conviction got him freedom. From his boyhood, he had a strong belief that one day he would surely escape from slavery. He maintained that belief even in grave and hopeless situations. He owes it to God and his minstrel angel which cheered him through gloom.
Suffering of Mulatto Children :
The children born to a white master and black woman slave were called as Mulatto Children. These children faced more problems than other slaves because they used to be the target of the wife and children of the master. Silly mistakes made by them were highlighted and punished. Sometimes, the master was forced to beat those children in front of them. They enjoyed that sight. The mistresses always doubted that the master might show mercy on Mulatto Children out of fatherly affection. She wanted that he should be strict on them and forced him to sell such children and send them away. Actually it was better for both the master and Mulatto Children. Otherwise, he was forced to beat them or look at the horrible sight of his children beating them infront of him. A master could never express the natural affection of a father for his son, a Mulatto child.
Atrocities on slaves :
Captain Anthony himself was harsh towards his slaves. He had appointed Mr. Plummer as the overseer (supervisor). Plummer was not a man but a savage monster. He was a drunkard and a profane swearer ( abusing with filthy words ) He always carried a cow skin and a thick short stick to beat the slaves. He used to cut and slash a woman's head so horribly that even Captain Anthony would become angry on him and would warn him to have some control over himself. Plummer was a great sadist. He used to enjoy whipping the slaves. Sometimes, Frederick would wake up early in the morning by the heart rending shriek of his aunt. Plummer used to tie her to a joist and beat her on her naked back till it was fully covered by blood. He would beat her more if she cried. He was so ruthless and so cruel that he used to beat hard on the wounds that his whip created. He was so merciless that no cry, no prayer, no begging for mercy ever moved him. He used to beat his victims till he lost his energy and became tired.
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