Fredrick douglass 4
Fredrick douglass 4Frederick Baily was born a slave in February 1818 on The Holmes Hill Farm just outside the town of Easton Maryland. His mother worked long hours in the corn fields surrounding the farm and he knew very little about his father except that he was white. Frederick last saw his mother at the age of seven when he was then taken to a new plantation near Baltimore to work for Hugh and Sophia Auld, a relative of his master. At the Auld's home his only duties were to run errands and take care of their new born son, Tommy. It was there when Frederick learned the beginning steps of reading from Sophia, She would often read to him from the Bible. Fearing a educated slave Hugh put an end to his wife's teachings, however this did not stop Frederick. When he realized that the ability to read and write was his pathway to freedom, learning became a personal goal. He made friends with poor white children he met on errands and paid them bread for lessons. Little by little Frederick learned to read and write (T.S.Y.,2).
In 1833 when Frederick was fifteen he was given up to another member of the Auld family, Thomas. The good days of Frederick's slave life were over. He was now forced to labor in the field and was starved and beaten frequently. There he organized religious services for the slaves. Thomas had a difficult time controlling Frederick and was sent to Edward Covey, a poor farmer known as the "Slave Breaker". After a severe beating Frederick received when he was sixteen he decided to finally fight back. Later Frederick wrote, "At that moment from whence came the spirit I don't know - I resolved to fight." (Adler)....
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