Stepping Stones of Frederick Douglass’
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a journey through Frederick Douglass’ life as a slave, how he learned, and his escape to freedom from slavery. He was a slave who never knew his mother. He witnessed and bore the countless beatings, humiliation, and oppression that marked the existence of African-Americans of that era. He vowed to overcome, not just for himself, but for all the black men and women who were stuck in a life entirely not their own and a life without freedom. Fredrick Douglass may be seen as a hero to some people, because he knew firsthand the suffering and hopelessness of what it meant to be a slave in America. Frederick Douglass was born in February 1818 as, Frederick Augustus Washington Baily, in his grandmother’s cabin in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother was, Harriet Baily, a slave owned by Aaron Anthony, whom was also his owner. Frederick changed his last name to Douglass after his escape. Oftentimes, before the children would turn twelve months old, they were separated from their mother, and she was hired out to other plantations far off from where their children were. The children were then placed under the care of the older female slaves who could no longer work in the fields; she would raise the children until they were able to work in the fields or in the house. Douglass only seen his mother four to five times his whole life. She was hired to a man about twelve miles from his home, and she would walk to see him after her day’s work. Although his father is unknown, Douglass has led to believe that his own master was his father. He knows nothing of his age, as the master’s deliberately kept it from the slaves. The master’s wanted to keep their slave ignorant to everything outside of slavery. The slaves kept up with their birthday more or less by planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. The white children all knew their birthdates and ages, and this bothered Douglass very much, which pushed him