Frederick Douglass Chapters 7-9

Give an example of Douglass's master finding religious sanction for his cruelty.

"I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture -- 'He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.'"

By what two methods did Douglass learn to write?

-He learned to write by copying the four letters used to label the wooden boards used at the shipyard -Then he would challenge any boy he knew to write and learned the letters that he didn't know that they wrote to prove to him they could write

Which preacher did Douglass like? Why?

Mr. Cookman, they believed him to be a good man. They thought he was instrumental in getting Mr. Samuel Harrison, a very rich slaveholder, to emancipate his slaves; and by some means got the impression that he was laboring to effect the emancipation of all the slaves.

What was the outcome of the "Little Sabbath school in the pious town of St. Michael's"?

Mr. Wilson (a white young man) proposed to keep a Sabbath school for the instruction of such slaves as might be disposed to learn to read the New Testament. They only met three times, when Mr. West and Mr. Fairbanks (both class-leaders) with many others came upon them with sticks and other missiles, drove them off, and forbade them to meet again.

Who were the two living children who would inherit the property?

Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew.

Give an example of master's cruelty to "Henny."

The above story. And he would leave her tied up for hours.

What was the one thing in Douglass's experience, more than another, that deepened his conviction of the infernal character of slavery and filled him with unutterable loathing of slaveholders?

The base ingratitude to his old grandmother. (because after all the masters died, all still remained slaves (to strangers), even her even though she was really old and had been a slave for the family her whole life.)

What kept Douglass from killing himself or doing something for which he should have been killed?

The hope of being free

How did he learn to read and write?

The mistress taught him how

What did Douglass find contradictory to his mistress and her husband's kneeling every morning to "pray that God would bless them in basket and store"?

They (master and wife) had an abundance of food stored in the safe and the smoke house going bad when they (slaves) were perishing from lack of food. But yet they asked for more everyday

Scow

a large flat-bottomed boat with broad square ends used chiefly for transporting sand, gravel, or refuse

What is "almost unpardonable offence to teach slaves. . . in this Christian country"?

to teach slaves to read

Who did Douglass make into teachers?

white little boys in the street

What ideas did Douglass get from Thomas Sheridan's speech?

A bold denunciation of slavery and a powerful vindication of human rights

How long did Douglass live in Master Hugh's family?

About 7 years

Who was "the slave's poet"? Why?

All of the grandmother's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; because they were all separated and she was left alone.

Why was she a "constant offence" to him? (she being Henny)

Because she had burnt her hands as a child so that they were unusable. She was a "bill of expense."

Why did Douglass find "The Columbian Orator" interesting reading material?

He found in it a dialogue between a master and his slave

What "faint hope" did Douglass have about this experience?

He indulged a faint hope that his conversion would lead him to emancipate his slaves, and that, if he did not do this, it would, at any rate, make him more kind and humane.

When did Douglass leave Baltimore to live with Master Thomas Auld at St. Michael's?

He left in March 1832

To what does Douglass give credit for being given to Mrs. Lucretia as a slave?

He suffered more anxiety than other slaves because he knew what it was like to be treated well even as a slave.

When he was sent on errands, what two things did Douglass usually take with him? Why?

He took his book to get a lesson before he returned and he took bread to trade the little white children for knowledge

What were the contradictions in Mr. Covey's life?

He was a cruel slaveholder yet he was a professor of religion, a pious soul, a member and a class-leader in the Methodist church.

Slavery seemed to divest Douglass's mistress of what heavenly qualities?

Her tender heart became stone, and the lamb-like disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness and having bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner in her reach

What happened to Douglass's master in August, 1932? (I think that's supposed to be 1832)

His master attended a Methodist camp-meeting held in the Bayside, Talbot County, and there experienced religion.

Why was Douglass sent to St. Michael's?

Master Hugh and Master Thomas got in a fight, so Master Thomas took him to live with him in St. Michael's as to punish Master Hugh.

Why did Douglass believe his master "a much worse man after his conversion than before"?

Prior to his conversion, he relied upon his own depravity to shield and sustain him in his savage barbarity; but after his conversion, he found religious sanction and support from his slaveholding cruelty.

To whom had Douglass felt the strongest attachment in Baltimore?

The little Baltimore boys.

What did the two Irishmen advise Douglass to do?

They advised him to run away to the north and find friends there

What happened at the valuation?

They were all ranked together at the valuation. Men and women, old and young, married and single, were ranked with horses, sheep, and swine. There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and all were subjected to the same narrow examination. Silvery-headed age and sprightly youth, maids and matrons, had to undergo the same indelicate inspection.

Were his new master and his wife well matched?

They were well matched, being equally cruel and mean

Why was Douglass sent for after the deaths of Captain Anthony and his son, Richard?

To be valued with the other property.

Ell

a former English unit of length chiefly for cloth equal to 45 inches

Unabated

at full strength or force

Pernicious

highly injurious or destructive, deadly; wicked

Apt

keenly intelligent; quick witted

Chattel

slave; bondsman

Nothing seemed to make her more angry than what?

to see him with a newspaper