Frederick Douglass was an American slave in the South during the time of the abolitionist movement. During his time in slavery he learned his ABCs from a benevolent slave owner and from there he learned to read. Using this knowledge he is able to learn about the abolitionist movement in the North and eventually plans his escape from captivity in Baltimore. Many years after his escape he was able to write and publish his life story with the aim of showing abolitionists and those on the fence about slavery in the North that the institution was not all it was cracked up to be. During Douglass' time many slave owners painted a different vision of the South and how kind and just slavery was. In his short story, Douglass combats this claim by describing appalling human rights violations that occurred during his lifetime to show the abolitionist that slavery is blatantly contrary to American justice and freedom..