How does slavery affect masters and slaves? This a key question that matters in a day when many are concerned about a dependency culture, and others fear a powerful bureaucracy. Frederick Douglass connects the dots, and he will really make you think!
This autobiography is a powerful true story of outspoken abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery in 1818 but escaped in 1838 to become a voice of freedom for the abolition movement. His book highlights personal reflections 20 years after his escape.
In particular, Douglass’ descriptions of brutal torture under numerous masters clearly illustrate how slavery corrupts the soul of both slave and master. Men are born equal, and were not naturally created enslave or be enslaved by others. Yet throughout history, men have violated the laws of nature, denying freedom to men who are no different than them in the eyes of God.
Douglass’ autobiography, speeches and writings magnify the corrupt moral fiber of a Southern society dominated by slaveholders. It wasn’t just a difference in economy between North and South. It went much deeper. As antislavery lecturer, author, and publisher, Douglass strongly critiques the skewed moral compass of slave-owners, given that their entire lives were centered on suppressing and manipulating others. The enormous effort required to perpetuate the system ultimately stifled productivity and robbed the slaveholder himself of dignity and humanity. Holding slaves may reinforce a man’s natural, and I might add sinful, inclination to dominate, but nature does not prepare one to rule others well. We become like unreasonable beasts.
“neither the slave nor the slaveholder can instantly throw off the sentiments inspired and ground into them by long years of tyranny on the one hand and of abject and cringing submission on the other.”
The effects are dismal on both parties. The slave ceases to function like a human being. Since his oppressor stifles his creativity and autonomy, the slave ceases to rely on his own faculties of reason and ingenuity. In the end, he will either go mad or shrivel up. Slavery creates a dependency culture where individuals don’t have to think for themselves and live out their God-given purpose.
The master’s character is eroded and his character dehumanized. As Lord Acton famously wrote: “absolute power corrupts absolutely. Slaveholding was a shadowy art passed on from father to son through Southern culture, for the institution could only be perpetuated in a society that honors such behavior. Following the Civil War, Douglass challenged the North to reconstruct the South in full view of the tyranny embedded in the former ruling class. It would be tough but not impossible.
“Above all, they must be taught that the liberty of a part is never to be secured by the enslavement or oppression of any.”
Slavery is a selfish practice rooted in greed. When men attempt to rationalize it, they only expose the corruption of their soul, and their own lack of humanity. I would argue that the same is true today of abortion today.
Keep a running reading list in 2017! It’s not too late to start one! Get your list going with Frederick Douglass and a deep look at human nature: who we are and how we tick. It is the perfect time to pick up My Bondage and My Freedom in honor of Dr. King, Bessie Coleman and other courageous, freedom-loving black Americans.
