Slavery is defined as the state of being under the control of someone else, in which that person is forced to work for another. Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist leader, was born into this horrible dehumanizing system in 1818 and lived to tell his story in his autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom. Douglass argues that the institution of slavery victimizes all those involved in the system recalling the abuse and victimization of slaves and the involvement of slave owners and non-slave owning whites. This essay will analyze Frederick Douglass's views on slavery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The dehumanization of slaves begins early in their lives. Douglass refers to this process as the “great purpose of slavery”; children are almost always separated from their mothers and sold to owners so far from home that they wouldn't even think of going back. This process breaks the maternal bond that is often taken for granted. These children grow up without knowing when or where they were born, who their siblings are, or even who their real parents are. Whites who buy and sell slaves believe they are doing so with a “clear conscience.” Yet this horrible process doesn't stop there, once the children are brought to the plantation where they will work, their conditions only seem to get worse. Douglass paints a heartbreaking picture when he describes the living conditions of these children, including himself. He mentions how everyone around him was in a constant state of nakedness, the only thing they were given was "rough sackcloth or linen" that reached down to their knees. This was the only item of clothing they had not only during the scorching summers but also during the unbearable winters. Wearing it day after day, it is understood that it would not be able to provide any protection and would soon tear and become unusable. Not only were they deprived of adequate clothing, but the sleeping arrangements for the animals on the plantation were much better than what the children had to endure. They had no beds or blankets, Douglass recalls, they slept in the sack in which the corn flour was transported, to create a sort of barrier from the cold. It is obvious that subjecting any human being to these types of conditions has a lasting psychological effect on them, many will be reduced to thinking of themselves as brutes, whose only purpose in life is to serve and benefit another human being. Later in his autobiography, Douglass recalls a time, after his old master's death, when he was sent back to his old plantation to be redistributed along with the rest of the "horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children." This process of reevaluation is a common practice among slavery institutions in that period, many are sent back to their original home and looked at and judged based on their "working" conditions, the owners do not take into consideration the new "family" ties had settled into their new positions, they simply evaluate how useful the slave will be to them. Douglas argues that the system of slavery also affects slave-owning individuals. He does this by documenting the time he would serve for Hugh Auld in Baltimore. At first, his wife, Mrs. Auld, was a very kind and religious woman who had never owned a slave before. Because of this, he treated Douglass almost like one of his own, his compassion towards him was in some ways much better than he had ever witnessed. Mrs Auld was.