Ngan Vu DR. Manian HST 17A Paper THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS Frederick Douglass was an American-African prominent abolitionist who was born as a slave in Maryland plantation. He experienced many events, met many significant people that gave him desire to escape from slavery. The escape successfully of Aunt Jennie and Uncle Noah was the first encourage him to cherish about the intention to flee. In Douglass’s childhood, he had heard or seen the cruel, repulsive, unjust treatments of slaveholders as well as overseers to slaves. As a slave, he didn't have any good clothes, food as well as freedom which others normal children had. In his mind, a slave-born would be a slave of life, and this was a fact he saw himself in. However, the escape Uncle Noah and Aunt Jennie changed his mind. When a slave could escape and get freedom by themselves, it meant slaves could have the opportunity to escape in some ways. As a child, he could not do anything, but as a grown man, the chance of escaping came closer, and he developed the hope that slavery would be ended. When he moved to a new house in Baltimore, he had pleasure time shortly with Mrs. Auld and that time, she taught him reading which he asked for. Mrs. Auld, the kindest lady – as he described – enlightened him how knowledge was essential. However, the brutality of systemic slavery did not leave anyone out. His kindly Mistress became cruel than usual and forbade him to learn from any book. Besides, Master Hugh also gave him a bitter lesson and the fact why education was forbidden among slaves. Therefore, he apparently decided to educate himself which is a way to get him out of slavery so that he could teach other people how cruel bondage was when he

escaped from slavery. His knowledge could not improve without helping of Gustavus Dorgan, Joseph Bailey, Charles Farity, and William Cosdry who were his playmates. Thank them, he developed his spelling and grew his hope for freedom by some little conversations. “The Columbian Orator” was the book that inspired him during his slave life as well as when he was a free man. This book gave him the spirit of freedom and how people against slavery. The more he read, the more lesson he learned. The book also mentioned the meaning of slavery and freedom, giving him more desire to be a free man. Douglass grew the hope to become a freeman, but he did not know where he should be if he were a free man. Two Irishmen whom he met gave him useful information that he could follow if he wanted to be free. Although Douglass ignored physically, his mind remembered every word from those white men and making the plan to get there without recapture. Besides, Charles Lawson who was religious colored man taught him a spirit which was being tormented by systemic slavery. Douglass tried to escape not only one but twice times. Although he was recaptured in the first time, it didn’t stamp out his hope about freedom. The moment he decided to run away was that he was refused to pay his money for the free time and his owner held his wages partly. Douglass put his effort into work to make his own