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Summary Of Frederick Douglass The Convict Lease System

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In ‘The Convict Lease System,’ Frederick Douglass discusses the reasons why black people made up about ninety percent of convicts, which most of the blame for that is put on the whites in the essay. Why does Douglass say that the exclusion of black people from White religious institutions serves as a catalyst for their convictions and why does he also hold White people responsible for the conditions of this system? African-Americans were convicted in immense amounts during the 1880’s. Not only were they convicted, but they were also treated in a way that seemed to be a by-product of slavery. Black people were excluded from public locations and were “left up to grow up in ignorance and vice.” They weren’t given a chance to be part of daily activities among whites, and …show more content…

By explicitly stating that their is no room for black people to reform from their bad inclination, shows Douglass’s judgment that white people play a major role in the conviction of many black people. African Americans aren't innately bad. It takes the nurture of their surroundings to affect them and their decisions. Their color defined them, more than the actions they committed. Even in religious affiliations were they excluded, since being of black blood made them “unworthy of consideration, a social outcast, and a leper.” Douglass uses three characteristic traits to define how whites perceived black people. All three characteristics mean the same thing- being a black person causes one to be a castaway from regular society. The purpose of stating three characteristics consecutively adds emphasis. It alerts the reader that despite who one was, if he was of ‘black blood,’ it unquestionable made them excluded from white society. White officers escorted men out “because they would not

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