Experiences of run away slaves
Slavery is one of the worst inhumane experiences in the life of Africans. A part from being captured through intimidation and coercion before being yoked to America, these innocent people were treated more like animals. Moreover, it was a great offence to attempt to escape or assist a slave to do so. In the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, along side Professor Foner’s Podcast, it becomes evidently clear that escaping would be the worst thing in the life of slaves. Anyone recaptured could be brutally flogged, branded, castrated or killed (David W. B., 2001).
This is what could have happened to Douglass who managed to flee to the North. According to his memoir, he could not reveal how he managed to escape. Otherwise, he would have jeopardized the lives of those who assisted him and any other slave who might be willing to use the same trick to flee.
Any regrets?
No. Douglass did not regret at all for opting to flee from the oppressive southern to the northern territories. it was a major turning point in his life because it gave in an opportunity to be absolutely free, reunite with his fiancée, become his own boss and attend the anti slavery convention which he later supported until his death in 1895.
If he could not risk escaping from Baltimore, he would have died in the hands of his oppressive masters or never made any mark in changing the lives of people. In other word, he owes his success as a renowned social reformer, statesman, writer, lecturer and the Underground Railroad conductor to his risky choice of escaping to northern America.
The Northern whites
Unlike the southerners, the northern American white citizens were fair. Even if they were also deeply rooted in the racist slavery actives, they were far much considerate than the Florida and Southern Carolina masters. Douglass preferred the northerners. That is why he decided to relocate there. They would give him more freedom to empower himself economically, socially and politically.
The southern masters like auld and Covey were so cruel and discriminative towards their slaves. For instance, instead of appreciating his services, while working under Covey, he was always harassed and whipped on a weekly basis. In fact, one day, he collapsed because of this brutality. For sure, things were different in the north. Otherwise; he would not have risked relocating there.
On the other hand, Douglass, the father of civil rights movement was once a conductor of an Underground Railroad which took him to New York. However, he only managed to survive after pretending to be one of the crew members. This is why he escaped all the prejudices that would otherwise thwart his journey to the ‘promised’ land. He was not happy about the racism extended to the transport facilities.
The northern and southern views on slavery
As already highlighted, both the northern and southern American territories enslaved Africans. As Prof. Foner argues, life was extremely difficult in the south because of the enactment of various slave codes and rules that were so punitive both for the subversive slaves and their owners (David W. B., 2001). That is why Douglass and his colleagues escaped to the north which was a bit better. However, in both the cases, the African- Americans were considered as second class citizens.
Works cited
David, W. B. (2001) Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
