This was a common tradition, and Douglass thought it was to "hinder the development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. This is the inevitable result- (qtd. Douglass 2). Although he did not have much of a relationship with his mother, she did manage to silently make trips in the night to see her young boy, although she faced a severe beating if she was caught. She died a few years later, with Douglass never developing a strong relationship with her. .
He goes on to discuss how life is harder for a slave whose father is actually his master. These slaves tend to receive more beatings from the slave owner's wife, since she was the person who was cheated on. Also, a master would find it difficult to whip his own children or to watch his white children whip their "brother."" So these slaves were typically sold to another owner so they would not have to worry about the consequence that accompanies having your own child as a slave.
Douglass then begins to describe the inhumane life a slave has on a rural plantation. His master, Captain Anthony, and his overseer, Mr. Plummer, were savage men. Mr. Plummer took any chance he could to beat a slave. There were countless reasons a slave could be whipped, such as not being at the field in time, trying to escape, being caught out at night, talking back to the master, and many other reasons. He then recalled some horrifying memories of his personal experiences with people being beaten. There were close to four hundred slaves kept on the plantation Douglass was at. The was a large central plantation and several smaller farms which was under the control of the large plantation and it's owner, Captain Auld. All slaves received their monthly allowance of food. They also received their yearly supply of clothing, which consisted of two linen shirts, one pair of trousers, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes.
