In the 1800s, there were many slaves. There were also the many slave holders who loved to control the slaves and make them do whatever they wanted them to do. At times they would whip, strike, or even beat their slaves for no apparent reason. The owners were, in effect, the absolute dictators of their slaves. In Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass the slave holders feel the need to exert this power because they need to keep the constant fear in the slaves' minds in order to prevent them from escaping and to maintain productivity.

The slave holders begin to engage in their displays of power over their slaves when the slaves are of a very young age. One of Douglass' first memories is the image of his master "[laying] on the heavy cowskin, [until] the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her...