TOPIC: Frederick Douglass Research Project

Aim 33 - Frederick Douglass Chapters 5 and 6.notebook1
TOPIC: Frederick Douglass Research Project
Aim #33: How can we utilize close reading skills to improve comprehension of Frederick Douglass?
Do Now: Complete Frederick Douglass handout
Homework Read chapters 5 & 6 and complete guide questions - Due Wednesday 11/20 Read chapters 7 & 8 and complete guide questions - Due Thursday 11/21
Frederick Douglass Chapter 1-8 Test - Friday 11/22
Aim 33 Frederick Douglass Chapters 5 and 6.notebook
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1. In what state was Douglass Born? (21)
Maryland (Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough - 21 miles from easton in Talbot county.)
2. Why didn't he know how old he was? (21)
There was never an authentic record containing Douglass's birth information. "Slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs..." (21). "I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell me of his birthday" (21). This tactic was used to dehumanize slaves.
3. What is Douglass's mother's name? (22)
Harriet Bailey
4. Who is rumored to be his father? (22)
His master "My father was a white man...it was also whispered that my master was my father" (22).
5. What happened to him before he was a year old? (22)
He was separated from his mother. "Part children from their mother's at a very early age. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month" (22).
6.Why does Douglass think this was done? (22)
So that the bond between mother and child will be broken and no feelings/ emotions will exist. "Hinder development of the childs affection towards its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child" (22).
7. How does he feel when he hears of his mother's death? (23)
Douglass felt very little/almost no emotion when his mother died. "...I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger" (23).
8. Why do the slaves, who are also the children of the master, suffer more than other slaves? (23-24)
They are a constant reminder to both the master and the mistress of the masters infidelity. "the master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves out of deference to the feelings of his white wife" (24).
9. Who was Captain Anthony? What kind of man is Captain Anthony? (24-25)
Captain Anthony was Douglass's first master. He owned two or three farms and about thirty slaves. "He was generally called Captain Anthony - a title which I presume he acquired by sailing a craft on the Chesapeake Bay" (25).
10. Who was Plummer and what kind of man was he? (25)
Plummer was the overseer for Captain Anthony. He was an exceptionally cruel man who would savagely beat and whip slaves. "Mr. Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster" (25).
11. Describe Aunt Hester's treatment. (25)
Aunt Hester disobeyed the masters orders and was found with a young man called Lloyd's Ned. She was brought into the kitchen and stripped from her waist up. Her hands were tied and arms stretched at full length so that she stood upon her toes. She was whipped with a cowskin until blood came dripping on the floor.
12. Give three (3) examples of dehumanization in this chapter. (21-27)
1) Douglass has no record of his age/birthday.
2) Douglass never knew his mother and was separated from her at a very young age.
3. He witnessed the humiliation and whipping of his Aunt Hester for disobeying orders.
13. Who raised Douglass and the other children? (27)
His grandmother. "I had always lived with my grandmother on the outskirts of the plantation where she was put to raise the children of the younger women" (27).
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1. Of whom did Douglass' masters family consist? (29)
The masters two sons, "Andrew and Richard one daughter, Lucretia, and her husband Captain Thomas Auld" (29).
2. What were the principle products raised on the plantation? (29)
Tobacco, corn, and wheat.
3. Why were Peter, Isaac, Rick, and Jake envied by other slaves? (29-30)
They were allowed to leave the plantation and travel to Baltimore with their master. "These were esteemed very highly by the other slaves, and looked upon as the privileged ones of the plantation to be allowed to see Baltimore" (30).
4. Name two farms nearest the plantation. (30)
Wye Town and New Design.
5. Which of the two farms was the seat of government for the 20 farms? (30)
New Design
6. If a slave was convicted of a high misdemeanor, what was his/her punishment? (30)
"If a slave was convicted of any high misdemeanor, became unmanageble, or evinced a determination to run away, he was brought immediately here, severely whipped, put on board to the sloop, carried to Baltimore, and sold to Austin Woolfolk, or some other slave trader..." (30).
7. What other things happened at the farm? (30)
Slaves from other farms received their monthly allowance of food and their yearly clothing.
8. Name the overseer of the farm. (31)
Mr. Severe
9. Why is his name a fitting name for him? (32)
He was an extremely cruel man who whipped slaves until their blood ran down their backs, "a half-hour at a time" (32). He was a profane swearer who seemed to take pleasure in punishing others.
10. What kind of overseer was Mr. Hopkins? (32)
He was less cruel, less profane and made less noise than Mr. Severe. "He whipped but he seemed to take no pleasure in it. He was called by the slaves a good overseer" (32).
11. What name did the slaves give the plantation? (33)
The Great House Farm.
12. Why didn't Douglass understand the songs sung by slaves chosen to come to the Great House Farm on errands? (33-34)
Douglass did not understand the songs sung by slaves because each song had a different meaning to those who were singing them. "I did not, when a slave, understand he deep meaning of those rude and apparently incoherent songs" (34).
13. How did the songs make him feel? (34)
Sad and depressed. "The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffable sadness. I have frequently found myself in tears while hearing them" (34).
14. When did the slaves sing the most? What do these songs represent? (35)
slaves sang the most when they were unhappy. "Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart" (35). It may have provided a way for slaves to release their sadness and anguish.
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TOPIC: Introduction to 8th Grade Social Studies
TOPIC: Chapter 3 Discussion Questions - Frederick Douglass
1. What was the greatest attraction at the home plantation? (37)
"The garden was probably the greates attraction of the place." People came from far and near to see it.
2. How were the slaves kept out of the garden? (37-8)
Tar was put on the fence after which if a slave was caught with any tar up on his person, it was proof that he/she had been in the garden. As a result, the slaves would be whipped by the chief gardener.
3. What were Colonel Lloyd's prized possessions? (38) How does his treatment of these possessions create irony?
His horses. "His horses were of the finest form and noblest blood." The treatment of these horses is ironic because they are treated better than most slaves.
4. How did Colonel Lloyd treat his stable keepers? (38)
Extremely harsh. "They never knew when they were safe from punishment." They were frequently whipped to ensure the horses were in the best possible condition. "If a horse did not move fast enough...it was owing to some fault of his keepers" (38).
5. What happened if a slave told the truth? (40) Why is this ironic?
If a slave told the truth about his/her master they would usually be sent off and sold to a Georgia trader. "He was snatched away, and forever surrendered from his family and friends by a hand more unrelenting than death" (40).
6.What does the expression, "a still tongue makes a wise head" mean? (40-1)
If you suppress the truth, you will not have to face the consequences of telling it.
7. What does Douglass think of the practice of slaves fighting to defend their slave masters' virtues? To what psychological impulse does he attribute this response? (41)
Douglass feels that by slaves arguing whose master was better, the greatness of their masters was transformed to themselves. "It was considered as being bad enough to be a slave but to be a poor man's slave was deemed to be a disgrace indeed!" (41).
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TOPIC: Introduction to 8th Grade Social Studies
TOPIC: Chapter 4 Discussion Questions - Frederick Douglass
1. Who succeeded Mr. Hopkins? (43) What kind of man was he? (43)
Mr. Austin Gore who was considered, "a first-rate overseer." "Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering. He was artful, cruel, and obdurate. He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man: (43).
2. If a slave was accused of a misdemeanor, what was the result? (44)
They were punished (most likely whipped). "To be accussed was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished" (44).
3. Why did Mr. Gore kill Demby the slave? (44-45)
He claimed that Demby had become unmanagable, and was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves. "He argued that if one slave refused to be corrected and escaped with his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example" (46).
4. Give four examples of slaves being murdered without consequences to the murderer. (43-48)
1) Mr. Gore killing Demby
2) Mr. Thomas Lanman killing two slaves (one with a hatchet)
3) The wife of Mr. Giles hicks murdered Douglass' wife's cousin when she broke her nose and breastbone with a stick.
4) An old slave who traveled onto the neighboring plantation belonging to Mr. Beal Bondly who took offence and shot him.
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1. Why did Douglass have so much leisure time? (49)
He was not old enough to work in the field. "I was not old enough to work in the field, and there being little else than field work to do, I had a great deal of leisure time" (49).
2. Why was he so cold in the winter? Give specific details from the text. (49-50)
He was kept almost naked. "...no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees" (49).
3. Why didn't Douglass feel sad about leaving Colonel Lloyd's plantation? (50-52)
He would no longer have to work on the plantation but would be working in Baltimore where he would be paid a small amount. His life could not get any worse. "I went at it in good, earnest, working for the first time with the hope for reward" (51).
4. What does Douglass feel the move to Baltimore did for him? (53) use examples from the text.
It was the first step for Douglass to achieve his freedom. Without it, he would still be confined to working in the fields. "Going to live in Baltimore laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity" (53).
5. Of all the slave children that could have been picked to go to Baltimore, to what does Douglass attribute his being picked? (53-54)
Douglass attributes his being picked to God. "This good spirit was from God and to him I offer Thanksgiving and praise" (54).
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1. What was Douglass's new mistress like? (55-56)
She was a very kind woman. (Most likely because she never had a slave under her control before Douglass). "Her face was made of heavenly smiles, and her voice of tranquil music" (55). However, over time she became cruel.
2. Why did Douglass learn to read? (56-57)
Not only was it a prized achievement, but he knew that by learning how to read, it would eventually lead to his freedom. "From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom" (57).
3. Mr. Auld forbids his wife to teach Douglass to read. list four (4) reasons that he gives her. (56)
It was unlawful/unsafe to teach a slave to read
Learning will spoil the best slave in the world
The slave would become unmanageable and of no value
It would make the slave discontent and unhappy
4. How are slaves in the city different from slaves on the plantation? (57-58)
"A city slave is almost a freeman compared to a slave on the plantation" (57). They are better fed and clothed, and enjoy privileges altogether unknown to the slaves that work on a plantation.
5. Describe the cruelty of Mrs. Hamilton. (58-59)
She would sit in a large chair in the middle of the room and constantly whip slaves every hour. "The head, neck, and shoulders of Mary were literally cut to pieces." She also kept many of the slaves half starved.
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TOPIC: Frederick Douglass Research Project