Slavery s Toll On A Man - 2236 Words

Slavery’s Toll on a Man Slavery in the United States persisted long after the international slave trade and well after the British abolished slavery in its colonies. The United States relied heavily on a supply of black servitude in order to advance Southern economy of agriculture and become a leading market in world trade. Economizing black slavery caused this servitude to prevail in American society as necessity that turned into carelessness and inhumane treatment of blacks. Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass has a first hand account of the struggle against white supremacy and the treatment of blacks during his time. Frederick Douglass’s determination to fight the notorious enslavement of blacks manifests from an initial aim to†¦show more content†¦For instance, while recounting the barbaric life slavery introduces him to, Douglass states â€Å"I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the heart-rendering shrieks of an aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no fears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose,† connoting the memorable events that depict to Douglass the unbending harshness of black servitude (Narrative 3-4). Douglass’s encounter with slavery from his youth serves as a growing incentive to liberate his fellow slaves and black countrymen from this immoral and wicked lifestyle. From a young age, slavery exposes him to the inability for slaves to escape this bondage that traps them their whole life. Through his Narrative, Douglass elaborates the hopelessness and broken spirit of black slaves as they live under the strident eyes of their white masters. His graphic memory of his aunt relentlessly shrieking in pain, with her body scarred from the supremacy of the whip acts as display into the world of injustice and depravation of the essence of humanity. The inanimate and unconcerned behavior of the master remains a reminder of the hindering enlightenment of whites to tolerate and respect blacks