People in Douglass' Life
Who was Frederick Douglass’s first known master?
Captain Anthony
What skill did Sophia Auld begin teaching Douglass?
reading/the alphabet
What was the usual monthly food allowance given to enslaved people on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation?
a set amount of pork or fish and cornmeal
What tragic fact did Douglass know very little about as a child?
His age
What major theme is introduced through Douglass’s separation from his mother?
the dehumanizing effect of slavery
Who was Douglass’s mistress in Baltimore who first taught him the alphabet?
Sophia Auld
What did Douglass trade with poor white boys in Baltimore in exchange for reading lessons?
bread
What item of clothing did many enslaved children receive annually?
two coarse linen shirts
What happened to Douglass’s mother when he was young?
Died when he was only around 7 years old
What does Douglass suggest slavery does to many slaveholders?
corrupts their character and morality
Who warned Sophia Auld that teaching Douglass to read was dangerous?
Hugh Auld
What book greatly influenced Douglass’s thinking about freedom?
The Columbian Orator
Where did many enslaved children sleep?
On the floor, usually without even a blanket
What was one of the first acts of cruelty on the plantation that Douglass witnessed?
The whipping of Aunt Hester
What emotion did Douglass increasingly feel as he learned more about slavery through reading?
Frustration or despair
Who became Douglass’s new owner after Captain Anthony died?
Thomas Auld
According to Hugh Auld, what would happen if an enslaved person learned to read?
They would be unfit to be a slave
What was the area on Colonel Llyod's plantation that slaves could not enter?
The Garden
What happened when a slave spoke ill of his master to a stranger in the woods?
The stranger turned out to be the slave's master and he was sold as punishment
According to Douglass, why did slaveholders often keep enslaved people ignorant?
to maintain control and prevent resistance
Which enslaved woman was Douglass’s aunt and was brutally whipped by Captain Anthony?
Aunt Hester
Why did Douglass later see literacy as both a blessing and a curse?
It revealed the injustice of slavery but gave him no immediate way to escape it
What was the name of the large plantation owner whose estate Douglass described in detail?
Colonel Lloyd
Why was Douglass sent from the plantation to Baltimore?
to serve the Auld family and care for young Thomas Auld
What realization from Chapters 1–6 becomes a major turning point in Douglass’s life?
that education and literacy are the pathway to freedom