Walker was a free black man living in Boston who had a unique view of slavery. He felt so deeply about this subject that he seemed to almost promote violence. He thought that slaves should do anything in their power, even kill, to stop the establishment of slavery. Walker accused the nation of not living up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. He was particularly not very fond of Thomas Jefferson, who he thought to be a racist.
Throughout Frederick’s speech, he repeatedly would ask the crowd uncomfortable questions and somewhat “guilt-trap” the people, example being “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?”. He truly showed how personal slavery was and that it was something that he needed to stand up for.
But what John W. Blassingame is really trying to do in this book is that slavery is so severe that it destroyed the ways the slaves lived and made them honor their masters. The book
They did not like the idea of the slaves being treated as property. For most states in the North it was illegal to own slaves. The North tried to put a stop to slavery because they did not want it to expand into the West and become a problem with the economy. The North did not need slaves for their agriculture. On the other hand, the South was all for slavery.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass Open-Ended Reading Questions 1. How does Douglass portray the effects of slavery on masters and slaves? On the family? On religion (both black and white)? What happens to Douglass's grandmother?
Even though Brown thought that performing viciousness actions such as organizing a rebellion for abolitionists was the only ways that can help slaves gain their own freedom, he only executed the errors of a passionate anti-slavery person. In addition, John Brown was a firm believer in anti-slavery so his only intention was to free all of the slaves using violence for good purposes. Moreover, he wasn’t trying to perform a crime and his action shows that he wasn’t a felon since his deed wasn’t for the pursuit of selfish fulfillment nor was it in disregard’s of other people’s feelings. For instance, john Brown risked his own life and even his family lives so the slaves can find their happiness and peace. He also performed these good deeds knowing that it won’t benefit him at all which shows us his heroic characteristics such as being brave and courages.
After being a slave for so long it would be impossible to go back to Africa and not live like an American especially for those people who were either enslaved at a very young or born into slavery. I feel that the Native Americans would be more likely to revolt against the republicans than the African Americans because they already had their own way of living that they wouldn’t change for
Some were even offered bonuses. What was interesting to me is that Vermont refused to help the Federal government and President Fillmore threatened to use the army to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. Nothing came out of this incident. The new law of 1850 left a very bitter taste in a lot of mouths. The author of these pages wanted us to focus our attention on all the hardship that African Americans had to endure whether slave or free.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Chapter 1 quote 1: “I had therefore been, until now, out of the way of bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation.” (Douglass, page 21) The basic standpoint on this quote is that he is explaining how he tries to avoid all confrontation on the plantation as much as possible, so he will not become a part of it. For example, he talks about how stayed on the opposite side of the plantation to avoid that kind of stuff. When he first saw it, it was all new to him so he was petrified. Another example is how in shock he was when he saw his master whipping his aunt. Anyone could tell by the way he spoke that that is a sight he wishes he could take back.
Many slaves were beaten with whips almost every day for no reason at all. Some slaves were even beaten to death by their masters. Frederick Douglass even recalls when one slave disobeyed his master, and he got shot and killed right on the spot. (Douglass 2000-2010) Also, by law these killings were not seen as a crime in the south because they felt that if a slave’s master killed them, they had a good reason for doing so. Therefore, a slave’s life seemed worthless in the world, and this stopped many slaves from trying to escape because they knew that if they were caught they would most likely be killed.