As Frederick Douglas stood at the podium to narrate his story as a slave, he trembled with nervousness as he spoke of the life he had lived as a son of a slave woman who was living with an unknown white man. Before he become the leading spokesman for the abolition for slave inequality and of slavery, he knew very well of his father that he was white, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, In February 1818 in Maryland, he was seven years old when his mother died. Before she died, he was only allowed to see her only four to five times; later, his life change when he started living with his father. During that time, he was subjected to degradation of slavery, receiving first-hand beatings and spending much time hungry and cold. Douglas had for long hoped that he would one day be free and be prosperous. However, his freedom came with a steep price; when he thought that he was freed when he lived with a ship carpenter, he was sent back again to the life of slavery (Baym 300-464).

Douglas life of slavery was also similar to the mishaps that befell Harriet Ann Jacobs, a girl who lived a life of slavery. When her mother Delilah died, and her father when she was at the age of 11 years, she was raised by her maternal mother, Molly Horniblow. She hoped that one day she would be freed by her; unfortunately, her maternal mother died and she was inherited by Norcoms family. Norcom harassed Jacobs sexually and physically abused herwhen she was 11 years of age, when she still worked as a servant in his household. Jacobs stopped giving sexual advances to Nacorm when she started having an affair with Samuel Treadwell Sawyer, a lawyer to Dr. Norcom, and bore two children for him. She was afraid that her resistance against the sexual threats from Norcom would have made him refuse to release her children. During those times, she could do nothing than hide in the roof of her grandmother’s house; sew, and look after her children from the roof, hoping that a chance would present itself and she escapes. In 1842, Jacobs succeeded to go to New York by a boat where she was re-united with her children. Although her new life in New York was somewhat a relief from slavery, living there also came along with a price to pay (Baym 920). The essay will show some of the tribulations that Douglas and Jacobs faced in their pursuit of freedom.

The Cost of Freedom for Harriet Jacobs

Living in New York provided Jacobs with some level of freedom; however, even when she was there she was under the mercy of the Fugitive slave law. As a result, this meant that wherever she went to live, she could still bought back by Naorcoms and sent back to slavery. Jacobs gained her freedom when her new employer purchased her from Norcoms. Jacobs developed an interest in writing and decided to be a Quaker abolitionist and a female activist. Nonetheless, her elevating prowess as a voice for the discriminated women was conceived with oppositions from the white community. In spite of the fact that she stressed women to be respected for their motherhood and sexuality, she was never able to free her daughter from slavery. Her daughter became the price for her distinguished role of fighting for the rights of the African-American women. Despite her activist role, she endured anxieties that she had faced during her earlier sexual harassments. Gaining popularity in editorial services made people to sympathize with her since she was publicly known to be a victim of sexual violence. In addition, despite her freedom, she still felt that her life was more complicated than that of any other African-American woman since she was still a mother in bondage in southern patriarchy tyranny over black women like her (Baym 925).

The Cost of Freedom for Frederick Douglas

Douglas, on the other hand, suffered the same ordeals but under different treatments-more brutal. He was living comfortably in Baltimore but his freedom did not last; he was sent again on a farm where he was whipped daily and barely fed. As if that was not enough, he was jailed when he attempted to escape, seeking for his freedom. Despite Douglas felt that he had been freed from slavery, he acknowledged that he was not free moral degradation that was labeled against him and the black people. He was still a subject to racial segregation (Baym 120-300).

Conclusion

It can be seen that even though Douglas and Jacobs gained their freedom and fought for the rights of the African-Americans through political domains, they still faced some challenges. Their involvement in the fight for the rights of African-Americans also put their freedom into jeopardy. They were subjected to criticism and, some laws that could charge them for alleged propagandas against the misdeeds that had been done by the white communities.

Works Cited

Baym, Nina. Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1820-1865. New York, NY: W W

Norton & Company Incorporated, 2007. Print.