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Overview
Douglass was born in Maryland. He didn’t know his birthday because slaves weren’t told their birthdays, which bothered him throughout his life. His mother rarely saw him and he never knew who his father was, although it was commonly assumed to be Captain Anthony. Anthony wasn’t particularly kind or conscientiousness and would often let the overseers treat the slaves brutally.
Anthony was the supervisor of Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. The Great House Farm, where Douglass lived as a child, was known for its wealth and power in the community. Slaves were often beaten with whips by overseers if they didn’t work hard enough or ran away. However, slaves who worked on the farm said it was better than other farms because there weren’t any overseers to beat them.
Douglass described the gardens of Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, as well as providing details about slavery. He explained why slaves praised their masters even though they were afraid to do so: whites would report them and punish them for it. Douglass also wrote about the wild beauty of slave songs that suggested horrors of slavery.
Douglass did not have many tasks on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. He was often cold and hungry, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time before God freed him from the bonds of slavery.
Douglass had a new mistress, Mrs. Auld, who was kind and treated him well. She even wanted to teach him how to read and write but her husband didn’t want that because it would make Douglass more difficult to control. So Douglass decided he would learn on his own by watching the street boys in Baltimore and copying words from books belonging to the Aulds’ son. He got a copy of The Columbian Orator which contained writings about emancipation (freedom) from slavery as well as denunciations against slavery itself.
After Captain Anthony died, his estate was divided between two of his children. Luckily Douglass remained with Master Hugh and Mrs. Auld, but this relationship didn’t last long either. The Aulds had problems and the entire family fell apart. Douglass then went to live with Master Thomas, who wasn’t a nice person either; he was cowardly and cruel to everyone around him, including Douglass himself. He also pretended to be religious but actually wasn’t very faithful at all in his beliefs or actions.
Douglass was beaten frequently and unjustly by Covey. Douglass lost his desire to read and improve himself, as well as his spirit. He was treated like an animal, with no regard for human life at all.
Douglass was once very ill and could not complete his labor. This drew the attention of Covey who beat Douglass until he was nearly senseless. Douglass resolved to journey to Master Thomas and ask him for protection against Covey. But when he got there, Thomas refused to protect him from Covey’s abuse. Douglass had no choice but to return home, where a fellow slave named Sandy gave him some roots that would supposedly protect him from being beaten by slaveholders again.
When Douglass returned to the farm, Covey attacked him again. This time Douglass fought back and managed to hold his own for more than two hours. He resisted physically but did not actually fight Covey; he simply defended himself against the man’s attacks. Finally, Covey backed down and left him alone. From that day on, they never spoke or saw each other again—Covey was afraid of getting in trouble if anyone found out about their fights because he wanted to keep his reputation.
Douglass left Covey and moved in with Freeland, who was a good master. He gave Douglass food and tools and treated him fairly well. Douglass started teaching slaves to read and write at his Sunday school. As time passed, he got older but was still a slave. He devised an escape plan that involved several of his friends even though they knew the risks associated with it.
