Frederick Douglass: “The overseer never was allowed to whip Harry; why then should he be…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1855

The overseer never was allowed to whip Harry; why then should he be allowed to whip Harry’s wife?

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

From his autobiography, Douglass questions the arbitrary rules of slavery that protected some enslaved men but not their wives.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

The anti-slavery platform had performed its work, and my voice was no longer needed.

Jan 1, 1881

To make a man a slave was to rob him of moral responsibility.

Jan 1, 1881

Guilty or not guilty, to be accused was to be sure of a flogging.

Jan 1, 1881

I looked into this kitchen with peculiar interest, and remembered that it was there I last saw my mother.

Frederick Douglass: “The overseer never was allowed to whip Harry; why then should he be allowed to whip Harry’s wife?”