Life was hard in 1845, when slavery was at its height. Slaves were considered beasts, subhumans, or at least a degenerate form of the human species. Enslaved Africans were used to grow crops for profit: sugar, rice, tobacco, and cotton. Their owners would oppress them, impose constraints, distort their choices, and make them stunted as people. They would be whipped, tortured and sold. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography of Frederick Douglass that describes slavery as an ungodly, unnatural, unjust, cruel, and immoral phase of his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Slavery in America during the nineteenth century was brutal and inhumane. Subjugation in America began in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought 20 African slaves ashore in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia (History.Com 2019). Bigotry was at the heart of American slavery. It required that the various races (black and white) be isolated, that they have their own communities, and that it was unnatural for individuals of different races to intermarry. By portraying Africans and the inferior populations of their African American relatives, supporters of slavery attempted to justify and maintain the system of exploitation while profiling the United States as a "hero of human freedom with human rights, unlimited possibilities, and equality" (Plato .stanford.edu 2019 ). Slavery became harsher as legal codes dictated the behavior of enslaved men and women. They had no legal standing in the courts, could not testify except against another enslaved person or against free blacks, could not enter into contracts or own property. They could not leave their owner's property without permission nor could they defend themselves from the violence of their white master. The punishments for infractions were extreme. Flogging was prescribed for minor offenses, branding, mutilation, and even the termination of someone's life were employed as punishment for more serious infractions. Frederick Douglass explains his emotions throughout the day very well. He metaphorically describes his days, with the aim of conveying a message to readers. "Those beautiful vessels, dressed in pure white, so delightful in the eyes of free men." The purest white means freedom for him and shows that he still has hope of escaping one day. ' Get caught or walk away, I'll try. I had died as much from high fever as from high fever." This sentence shows his desperation about how he doesn't want to continue with his life. Frederick Douglass compares his time on the plantations with Mr. Covey to his time in Baltimore. In Baltimore he had time to learn to read and write and was aware of the consequences of slavery. But when it is rented to Edward Covey, things change. "If at any time in my life I was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery, that time was during the first six months of my stay with Mr. Covey." Covey manages, in the first six months, to work and strip his entire soul to the point where he is never eager for learning or freedom again, only ready to rest from his wounds and exhaustion. The Story of Frederick Douglass. it is by far the most significant because it requires us to consider something beyond laws and political visions of submission and freedom. In “The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave” Douglass discusses the account of how a slave becomes free, however, it is also the autobiography of how men are transformed into slaves. There.