On page 1230 Fredrick Douglass says, “What had I done, what had my parents done, that such a life as this should be mine?” Douglass did nothing to deserve the treatment that he received, especially the treatment that he outlined about being whipped and physically mistreated. He even says on page 1197, “How I escaped death, I do not know.” While Douglass survived unimaginable pain and the worst experiences possible, he also talks about his escape (pg 1202) where he discusses his escape, making distance through the woods, and ignoring the calls and threats from Covey demanding that he return. He was in an extremely trying situation, as he said in his writing.
On page 1221, Douglass says, “We now began to feel a degree of safety, and to prepare ourselves for the duties and responsibilities for a life of freedom.” This quote sparked my thinking about what “a life of freedom” would look for Douglass at this point in history, he says he worked and became known to the anti-slavery world (pg 1224), but I wanted to dig more into what the treatment of a freedman would look like, even in the anti-slavery world, to get a better understanding of Douglass’s life experiences.
An NPS source (linked below) said that even while the north opposed slavery, they often still did not want Black people/freed slaves migrating up north. This was because they had a fear that having Black people available to do labor would cut into White wage earning. To discourage Black people from coming to the north, there were “Black laws” which that denied Black people citizenship, suffrage, and property rights. This information provides facts that lead me to the conclusion that even after Douglass’s escape and entering into an “anti-slave world”, he still was not being welcomed into that space.
Furthermore, a Library of Congress source (linked below) outlines the general treatment of freedmen. Black people faced great challenges due to lack of resources such as money and education. For Douglass, he had the resource of being able to read and write. The source says many freedmen struggled to develop lives because of hostile attitudes from White people. In this source provides a quote from Houston Hartsfield Holloway, “”…we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them.” This source is important to think about how freedom would have been defined for a freedmen, and how it is different from the definition that we immediately think of upon hearing the work freedom. The work of Fredrick Douglass is able to give us historical context that can help us refine what freedom would have looked like at this point in history.
Ava, thank you for finding these sources that offer a broader perspective. As you say, “they had a fear that having Black people available to do labor would cut into White wage earning” is certainly reflected in the text, both in the actions of the men working in the shipyard in Baltimore and in Douglass’s inability to find a job caulking in New Bedford. I actually found it interesting how Douglass seemed to gloss over a bit the racism he experienced even after reaching “freedom.” Your question of what is freedom really? is an important one.