Douglass and Canot Frederick Douglass believed that men should be free and that slavery was morally wrong. Captain Canot did not think slavery was bad and in fact supported slavery. Both men based their takes on slavery on experience and philosophical perspectives. However, the main difference was that Douglass was coming from the perspective of the slave and Canot was coming from the perspective of the slave owner. So for Douglass, of course slavery would seem bad as he experienced it directly and knew what it felt like to not be free. That shaped his perspective. Canot on the other hand only had the experience of being an owner and never felt the loss of his rights as a human being so did not appreciate this perspective.

Douglass based his views also on his education and his experience: he could see right away that inequality was hateful. He saw how children whose mother is a slave but whose father is a white slave master “are, in the first place, a constant offense to their mistress. She is ever disposed to find fault with them; they can seldom do anything to please her; she is never better pleased than when she sees them under...

2-3). Canot (2015) based his views on his European background and sense of hierarchy. He was born into the military and became a captain—a master of other men, so slavery naturally fit right into his way of life and thinking. It was as natural to him as anything else in life. He did not experience the other side in the same way that someone like Douglass did, so really had no conception of it. He was a man who appreciated the finer things in life and had a like for manners and civility, which is odd that he would not find slavery repellant. Douglass presents his information through narrative, and so too does Canot, but Canot’s approach is more Old World-styled while Douglass’ approach is more American in tenor. [1: Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (NY: Dover, 1995), 2-3.]
Obtaining Land in Georgia

My family and I obtained land during the colonial period in Georgia by means of a relative who acquired it initially and left it to us, his only kin in his will. He himself obtained the land through the land lottery. The land…