Frederick Douglass: The Story of an American Slave

Slavery was bad. Frederick Douglass's narrative makes that clear. There are different degrees of the condition. Some masters were fairly benevolent, while others were downright evil. It seemed those that professed the most religion were also the harshest. (This seems to make sense. If racial slavery and religion were to go together, they would require some twists in logic that would make the slaves sub-human, thus appropriate to punish as animal property.)

Douglass also provides explanation for stories of "well-treated slaves". If they dared criticize the master, they would be subject to a beating or even death. There were cases of "undercover" people that would listen to the criticism. It was best to always say the best things possible. (For some reason, I don't ever remember reading this book in the south.)

The life in New Bedford, Massachusetts was an interesting contrast to the south. He found it to be much more civilized, egalitarian and industrious. (Alas, things have changed since then, with New Bedford being rundown and impoverished.) He also found many people that had his preferred last name, thus leading him to adopt the last name Douglass. 

His experiences appeared to be somewhat unique. He seems rather prone to fighting. He also claims to have helped "defeat" a cruel master (and live to tell about it.) He focussed on literacy after hearing a master criticize his wife for teaching a slave to read. This gave him insight and a focus. 

The stories of kind people turning to cruelty once becoming slave masters is a cautionary tale. An institution that treats others as worse can cause even the best to behave poorly. While slavery was one of the most extreme examples of this cruelty, there are plenty of other opportunities to let a position of power go to your head. We don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.