Historiography Essay on Slavery
Historiography Essay on Slavery Frederick Douglass was born a slave on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As a boy, Douglass learned to read and write while working as a house servant in Baltimore. In 1838, he made his way to freedom and went to New York City, where he soon married a free black woman named Anna Murray. After escaping from slavery, Frederick Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement, garnering praise for his incredible skills as an orator. His great speaking skills led him to write several autobiographies, his first one being Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. After returning from a successful speaking tour in Europe, Douglass worked on his antislavery newspaper, The North Star. During the Civil War, Douglass worked as a recruiter of African American troops for the Union Army, and he held several governmental appointments after the war. Douglass was a believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant groups. He actively supported women’s suffrage and was the first African American nominated for vice president in the Equal Rights Party. In 1895, Douglass died at his home in Washington, D.C (Douglass, 229). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a gripping autobiography that reveals the true nature of the black experience in slavery. In one part of the autobiography, Douglass disobeys Mr. Covey’s orders and while attempting to punish Douglass, a fight between the two ensues. Mr. Covey, known for being a tough, “first-rate overseer,” (Douglass, 291) backs down when he realizes that Douglass intends to resist him. Douglass’s small win is important to himself, as resisting Mr. Covey gives him a taste of independence, hope, and self confidence which inspires him to escape from slavery. There was a great slave revival during the ages of the cotton kingdom. In the South, most slaves lived in large plantations where a “big house” was enclosed by the plantations (Conlin,