FredDoug

How Frederick Douglass Escapes Physical & Intellectual Limitations

Slaveholders employ an abundance of methods to keep slaves enslaved. Many of these methods are categorized by either being physical or intellectual. The intellectual restrictions are developed as a means of justifying slavery to the slaves and slavemasters. By not allowing slaves to read, slavemasters could be the only source of information as to what is contained in books, such as the bible. With physical restrictions in place as well, slaves had very little options. Frederick Douglass breaks though these limitations by learning how to read, and discovers that he is not the inferior person that he was raised to be by reading the bible. He sees how he has the capability to be free, and escapes to freedom. To achieve freedom, a slave must overcome the physical dominations and intellectual limitations of slavery, which can only be realized though literacy.

Slaveholders build a difference between themselves and slaves that would justify the institution of slavery. In the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," Douglass begins by stating how he has "no accurate knowledge of [his] age, never having seen a

Ignorance may have made slaves easier to deal with, but slaveholders needed fear as well in order to keep the slaves moving efficiently and loyally. Many times fear is established by the whip. When slaves misbehaved, was necessary to provide an example to others. Slaves were whipped when the quality of work was not done to standards, as when Douglass's "awkwardness was almost always [the slaveholder's] excuse for whipping [him](p103)". In order to prevent such a beating, slaves must do work that cannot afford room for errors. Whipping was not only confined to mistakes, as anything that can upset a slaveholder can cause for a beating, as illustrated when Douglass states that "the overseer used to stand by the door of the quarter, armed with a large hickory stick and heavy cowskin, ready to whip any one who was so unfortunate as not to hear, or, from any other cause, was prevented from being ready to start for the field at the sound of the horn (p55)". With slaves being in fear of the whip, they would work to their maximum, to avoid as much pain as possible. If there was no physical limitations, then slaves might try and escape, and would be "setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation(p67)". Few would do anything that could be wrong or that could anger the overseer, for beatings ranged from severe to fatal. These examples would provide fear for slaves, but if it is a situation where a slaveholder "whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it, he was called by the slaves a good overseer,(p56)", slaves would get the false impression that their overseer has more concern for his slaves.

ny authentic record containing it (p47)". Not knowing ones age is not restricted to Douglass, for he observes that "the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is

Some topics in this essay:
Douglass Douglass, Frederick Douglass, Limitations Slaveholders, able read, frederick douglass, slave able, black people, physical intellectual, reading bible, bible able, slavery slaves, knowledge slaveholders, example slaves,