Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

    I was astounded by the actions taken by slave owners in the South. Never before have I been so disgusted by the fact that such barbaric people would be allowed to continue their evil practices by the laws of the United States. 

    Out of the many descriptions written of a slave's punishments, the one concerning a house-slave known as Mary being beaten by her owner Mrs. Hamilton was gruesome enough to make me shed tears for the girl. I am disturbed by the injuries she had sustained from her mistress and can not imagine the pain that she would have to suffer through. I was ashamed to see how privileged white families would treat their slave so brutally. They treated Frederick Douglass worse than you would treat a dog.  It was sad to read the story and see the Auld’s family slowly get meaner and meaner towards the slave, till by the end of it, the mistress who started out the nicest was the meanest of all. Through all of this Frederick Douglass persevered and continued to teach himself and not give up. Frederick’s will to learn and push on was inspirational. I do not think it is morally acceptable to continue to treat and let others treat people in such a horrible fashion. The slave owner could be so kind and loving, and in a word from her husband, became so rude and cruel. Douglass says that “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear . . . Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities . . . She finally became even more violent than her husband himself” (Excerpt 10). I found this incredibly powerful, because many of us do not think of the potential harm to everyone involved in this horrible subject, and it connects to many of us on many levels. 

    We can not stand by and watch our fellow man be treated so horribly, it is our duty under the lord to stop this injustice. I am calling upon all abolitionists to join me in the fight to end slavery. If you do nothing you are just as bad as the slaver owners engaging in these unspeakable actions. 

Your Friendly Abolitionist,

     Thomas Anderson.