Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass and American slave

When Douglass first went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she decided to try and teach him his ABCs. As soon as her husband found out he forbade her to continue the instruction. He explained that if a slave was taught to read, it would spoil him and make him unfit to be a slave. He would become unmanageable and freethinking as well as discontented and morose.

When Douglass first went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she decided to try and teach him his ABCs. As soon as her husband found out he forbade her to continue the instruction. He explained that if a slave was taught to read, it would spoil him and make him unfit to be a slave. He would become unmanageable and freethinking as well as discontented and morose.

Douglass's plan to learn to read centered on making friends with the poor white children of Baltimore and learning from them a little at a time. He used to complete his errands for Mr. and Mrs. Auld quickly, and then meet up with his new friends. He often used to give them bread (as he was actually better off than most of them) for lessons. The fact that he was a slave moved his young friends.