rracial relationships were scorned by northern society. By portraying these southerners as immoral and adulteress, Douglass wanted his audience to have an unfavorable opinion of southern slaveholders. Keeping with the theme of family values, Douglass touched on the topic of the basic family unit. Their master separated Douglass and his mother when he was an infant, for what reason "(Douglass) does not know." (2) No reason was ever given to Douglass because this was the accepted way of life on plantations. Douglass wanted his northern white readers to be horrified that slave families were regularly torn apart for no apparent reason. This would upset Northerners because the family was the basis for their close-knit communities. Multiple generations and extended families lived together or within close proximity to each other. It would be unimaginable to the readers that a society existed that took children away from their mothers without a reason. Anyone who was part of such a society would be thought of as a heartless monster. Douglass wanted the northern whites to lash out against these heartless monsters and abolish slavery, thereby ending the callous practices associated with slavery. Another example of how Douglass used family values as propaganda against southern slaveholders was in the treatment of his grandmother. When Douglass's master decided that his grandmother was too old and no longer useful, "they took her to the woods, built her a little hutand then made her welcome to the privilege of supporting herself in perfect loneliness; thus virtually turning her out to die." (28) This showed the lack of decency or gratitude on the part of slave holders toward slaves that had faithfully, their entire lives, served their masters. The mistreatment of elders in this manner would enrage the readers, especially those with close-knit families, because the aged were to be taken care of and respected until death. The usefulness...
