NEW!!!: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

(10) What happened to Douglass almost every week for the first six months that he lived with Covey?

Covery whipped him.

(10) What did Covey do to Douglass when Douglass became sick while fanning the wheat?

Covey kicked Douglass in the ribs and hit him in the head with a hickory slat.

(10) Douglass says that he was "somewhat unmanageable" when he first went to live with Covey. How does Douglass describe himself after he had been with Covey for a few months?

Covey's discipline tamed and broke Douglass.

(11) What newspaper did Douglass begin to read? How did this newspaper affect his ideas and actions?

Douglass began to read the "Liberator". He liked the ideas about anti-slavery and began attending meetings. On August 11, 1841, while attending a meeting at Nantucket, Douglass reluctantly spoke to the group. From then on, he began speaking out against slavery.

(11) Why did Douglass want to hire himself out, even thought Master Hugh took most of the wages?

Douglass considered hiring himself out a step toward freedom to be allowed to have the responsibilities of a freeman.

(1-3) What are Douglass's observations about this class of mulatto slaves in relation to the south and the American idea of the correctness of slavery?

Douglass observed that the slaves looked very different from the original African slaves and from the white southerners. He thought their presence might do away with the reasoning that since God cursed Ham, then American slavery was right. Since so many of the slaves were of mixed blood, the reasoning that the descendants of Ham should be cursed would no longer apply.

(3-6) What did Douglass think about Mr. Auld's comments? What did Douglass decide to do in light of the comments?

Douglass realized that Mr. Auld was correct. He understood how the white man was able to enslave the black man. Douglass became determined to learn to read.

(10) What did Douglass do as a result of Covey's treatment of him? What was the result of Douglass's actions? What did Douglass do?

Douglass walked to Master Thomas's store, a distance of about 7 miles, and asked Thomas to remove him from Covey's supervision. Thomas refused the request and sent Douglass back to live with Covey and Douglass went back as he was ordered.

(1-3) Where and when was Frederick Douglass born? What was his name at birth and what did he know about his parents?

Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsboro, Maryland. He did not know when he was born but estimated that it was around 1818.

(1-3) Who was Douglass's first master? Also name of the members of his family and where they lived.

Douglass's first master was Captain Anthony. He had two sons named Andrew and Richard, a daughter, Lucretia, and her husband, Thomas Auld. They all lived in a house on the plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd, as Anthony was Lloyd's clerk.

(1-3) What was his name at birth and what did he know about his parents? How old was Frederick Douglass when he wrote his narrative?

Douglass's name at birth was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. His mother was a slave named Harriet Bailey and he believed his father was a white name named Captain Aaron Anthony, who owned Harriet Bailey. Douglas was about 27 or 28.

(10) Describe Douglass's first attempt to run away. Tell who was with him, what the plan was, how far they got in the attempt, and what happened to each of the men after they were caught.

Douglass, Henry Harris, John Harris, Henry Bailey, and Charles Roberts made the attempt. Douglass wrote protections or passes for each of the men, saying that they had liberty to go to Baltimore. They planned to steal a canoe and paddle up the Chesapeake Bay past the Maryland limites. The morning of their scheduled break, they realized they had been discovered. The men were taking to jail in St. Michael's. Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Freeland took all but Douglass out of jail. After about a week, Mr. Auld came for Douglass and sent him back to Baltimore to live with Hugh.

(1-3) Describe the slaves' monthly allowance of food and yearly clothing. Describe their beds and bedding.

Each month, the adult men and women slaves received 8 pounds of pork or fish and one bushel of corn meal. Each year they got two coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, one pair of shoes, and one pair of stockings. The children's allowance was given to their mother or the woman who was raising them. Young children who did not work had only two linen shirts per year. Most of the children under age 10 went naked. Slaves slept on the floor with only thin blankets.

(1-3) Describe Frederick's relationship with his mother. Include the number of times they saw each other, what their visits were like, and Frederick's age when she died.

Frederick was taken from his mother when he was less than a year old and was then raised by his grandmother. His mother was sent to a farm about 12 miles away to work. He only saw her 4 or 5 times in his life. On these occasions, she walked after her workday to the farm where he lived. She put him to bed and then left. She died when he was 7, but he was not permitted to be with her when she was sick or when she died.

(11) What motto did Douglass adopt in the free state. Why?

He adopted the motto "Trust no man!" because there were slave hunters all over look for escaped slaves to capture to return to slavery.

(11) Why didn't Douglass give all o the details of his escape?

He did not want to embarrass anyone who helped; he does not want the slaveholders to know how he escaped.

(11) How did Douglass feel about the underground railroad?

He disapproved of the public manner of the system and calls it the upperground railroad. He did not think th system was of much help to the slaves because it made the owners more watchful.

(6-9) What word did Douglass hear that was of interest to him? How did he find out the meaning? Why was this word interesting?

He heard the word abolitionists. He found out the meaning by reading newspapers. He realized the word had to do with freeing slaves.

(10) What trade did Douglass learn? What was his situation at the end of a year of working at this trade? What was unfair about the situation?

He learned how to calk ships. At the end of a way, he was earning the highest wages of an experienced calker. However, he had to give his wages to Mr. Hugh.

(11) When did Douglass succeed in escaping? Where did he go? How did Douglass feel when he arrived in the free state?

He left Baltimore in September 3, 1838. He went to New York. He said it was the highest excitement he ever experienced. He wrote that it was like escaping from a den of hungry lions.

(6-9) How did Douglass learn to read?

He made friends with the little white boys. He did errands quickly and managed a few minutes for lessons with them. With the poor white boys, he traded bread for lessons.

(6-9) What regret did Douglass express about the time when he was moved from Master Hugh's home to Master Thomas? Why did he have this regret?

He regretted not at least trying to run away, because it was easier to escape from a city than from the country.

(3-6) To what did Douglass attribute his good fortune?

He said his good fortune was from God.

(1-3) Describe Colonel Lloyd's method for keeping slaves out of his garden.

He spread tar on the fence around the garden. If a slave were caught with tar on his person, it was proof that the slave had tried to get in the garden, or had been in the garden. The slave was punished.

(3-6) What did Douglass think about his departure from Colonel Lloyd's plantation?

He thought it was one of the most interesting events of his life. Going to Baltimore was the first sign to him that he would one day be free.

(10) Summarize Douglass's thoughts when he looked at the ships on the Chesapeake Bay.

He thought it was unfair that the ships were free but he was not free. He vowed to run away. He believed that he was not meant to be a slave forever. He sometimes thought that his misery in slavery would give him more happiness when he was free.

(6-9) How old was Douglass when he read "The Columbian Orator"? What effect did this book have on him?

He was 12 when he read the book. The book helped him argue against slavery and also made him hate the slave owners.

(3-6) How old was Douglass when he left the Lloyd plantation? Where did he go? With whom did he live there? What was his job?

He was about 7 or 8 when he was sent to Baltimore to live with Mr. Hugh Auld and his family. He was to take care of the Aulds' young son, Thomas.

(3-6) Douglass says that Mr. Gore was "cruel, artful, and obdurate." What are the examples that Douglass gives for each of these adjectives about Mr. Gore?

He was cruel enough to inflict the most severe punishment. He was artful enough to be very tricky. He was obdurate enough to ignore his conscience.

(6-9) What even happened about 3 years after Douglass began living in Baltimore that again reminded him that he detested slavery?

His master, Captain Anthony, died suddenly. Since he did not have a will, all of his property, including the slaves, had to be sent back to his homestead to be valued. Douglass expressed his dislike of the process of being valued and then the slaves dispersed against their will.

(11) Describe how Frederick Bailey took the name of Douglass. Include all the names he used, including the name his mother gave him.

His mother named him "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey". When he left Baltimore, he used the name "Stanley". When he got to New York he changed his name to "Frederick Johnson". There were too many people named Johnson, so the man who was helping him, who was also named Johnson, suggested that Bailey take the name of "Douglass" from the book The Lady of the Lake.

(11) Master Hugh sometimes gave Douglass 6 cents of his wages after he had made 6 dollars, supposedly to encourage him. What effect did this really have on Douglass?

It made him restless and discontent because it seemed to him an admission that he deserved all of the money.

(1-3) What did Douglass say about their singing of the slaves? How did he feel about the songs?

It was a common belief that slaves sang because they were happy, but this was not true. Douglass said the slaves sang the most when they were unhappy. These songs were a testimony against slavery. Douglass was not able to hear the songs without thinking about the dehumanizing aspects of slavery.

(6-9) Why did Douglass say that learning to read was a curse instead of a blessing?

Learning to read made him realize how bad his condition was, but reading did not give him a way out of slavery.

(3-6) How did Master Daniel Lloyd treat the young Douglass?

Lloyd protected Frederick from the older boys and shared food with him.

(11) Who helped Douglass and what were some of the results of his help?

Mr. David Ruggles helped Douglass by giving him a room in his boarding house and by helping him arrange for Anna, his intended wife, to join them. They were married on September 15, 1838. He also got Douglass a job in New Bedford.

(3-6) What did Mr. Gore do to the slave named Demby? Why did he do this? What punishment did Mr. Gore receive and why?

Mr. Gore shot and killed Demby when Demby refused to come out of the creek where he had taken refuge from a beating. Gore said that if even one slave could be allowed to get away without being corrected, the other would not listen, and then they would all get their freedom. Gore was not punished because the slave owners agreed with him. Also, the only witness to the murder were slaves, and the slaves could not sure a white man or testify against him.

(10) According to Douglass, what institution is the "mere covering for the most horrid rime"? What type of slaveholders are the worst? Why does Douglass think this?

Religion is the covering; religious slaveholders are the worst. The religious slaveholders are the worst. The religious slaveholders professed their religion while mistreating the slaves.

(10) What suggestion did another slave named Sandy Jenkins give to Douglass? What did Douglass do?

Sandy told Douglass to carry a piece of certain root on his right side and he would never again be whupped by a white slave owner. Douglass put a piece of the root in his pocket, even though he did not really believe it would help.

(3-6) What did Mrs. Auld teach Douglass to do? What did Mr. Auld say when he found out?

She taught Douglass the alphabet and how to spell some words. Mr. Auld told her to stop and said that teaching slaves to read made them unmanageable, discontented, and unhappy.

(10) Describe the turning point in Douglass's life as a slave that happened when he was with Covey.

The day after Douglass returned to Covey, Douglass resisted as Covey was trying to whip him. Douglass managed to whip Covey, but Covey was not able to hurt Douglass. From this time on, Covey did not attempt to whip Douglass.

(6-9) How did Mrs. Auld change during the time that Douglass lived with the Auld family? What made her change?

The duties of a slave owner changed her from being a kind, tender-hearted woman to a fierce person with a heart of stone.

(1-3) What are Douglass's observations about the mulatto children?--Those who had a slave mother but white father, who was usually the slave owner.

The law said that the children of slave women would always become slaves. The slave owner's wife was offended by the present of the mulatto children. The children were often sold off so the father would not have to either whip them himself or witness their beatings by his wife or white sons.

(1-3) Summarize Douglass's observations about the reasons the slaves usually gave only positive, complimentary comments about their masters.

The masters had spies among the slaves, and if it was reported that a slave said negative things, the slave could be sold off. Slaves also thought of their own situation as better than that of other slaves. They also thought the greatness of their master transferred to them.

(3-6) Compare and contrast the treatment of slaves by the slave owners in the city with the slave owners on the plantations.

The slave owners in the city mostly treated their slaves better than the plantation owners did. The slaves in the city had more food, better clothes, and had some privileges.

(11) Summarize Douglass's thoughts on the type of Christianity that he calls the slaveholding religion.

The slaveholding religion was totally different from the Christianity of Christ. The slaveholding religion was hypocritical Christianity which served the devil. He considered religion and robbery allies.

(3-6) Who were Mr. Thomas Lanman, Mrs. Hick, and Mr. Beal Bondy? What did each of them do? What were the results of their actions?

They were all white slave owners who killed slaves. None of them were convicted since it was not a crime to kill a slave or any other colored person.

(6-9) Douglass says that Master Thomas was a mean man. Which of Thomas's practices was considered the meanest, even among slaveholders?

Thomas did not give his slaves enough to eat.

(6-9) Where did Master Thomas send Douglass, for how long, and why?

Thomas sent Douglass to live with Edward Covey for a year. Thomas was not able to handle Douglass, and Covey had a reputation for being able to break the slaves.

(6-9) Describe how Douglass learned to write.

While working at the shipyard he learned the names of the letters that were used on the timber. He also learned how to copy the letters. To learn how to write more letters, he challenged boys who could write by telling them he could write as well as they could. He would write the letters he knew and then watch them write additional letters. He also copied the italics in Webster's Spelling Book. Once young Thomas Auld was in school, Douglass copied the writing in Auld's book.