There were many reasons for believing this whisper, not only from his personal appearance, but from the undeniable freedom which he enjoyed over all others, and his apparent consciousness of being something more than a slave to his master.
Douglass explains the reasons for believing an enslaved man was the master's son, highlighting the subtle privileges and psychological impact of such a relationship within slavery.
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For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.
Treason had shot its poisonous roots deeper, and had spread its death-dealing branches further than any northern calculation had covered.
It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.