In the old days when it was legal to own slaves, many of them were in homes that had a master and a mistress who often times also had children. Sometimes everyone in the household was mean to the slave, but in rare times some showed compassion. Fredrick Douglass showed in his story, “From Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave,” a true account on compassion is told. Throughout though Douglass shows just how some could be changed by the cruelty of slavery. In today’s society power hungry people are everywhere and often times when one has power they will change everything they believe in just to maintain the power. This power can corrupt anyone at any time just as it could in the past. One major example of this in today’s society would be the parent to child relationship. Douglass was born in 1817 and lived until 1895. He was born into slavery in Maryland where he would grow up to do great things. At the time he did not know or believe that. He was separated from all of his family at a very young age. Through his determination Douglass did die a free man, who had become quite successful in what he did. Douglass rightfully earned his freedom and became one of the most influential abolitionists in the country. He wrote many books and inspired lives all around. At his young age in the home where he was a captive slave, his mistress Mrs. Hugh Auld, began to teach him how to read and write. She began by teach him his A, B, C. After not too long when her husband found out he forcefully convinced her that teaching slaves was a terrible idea and would only bring trouble. None of that stopped Douglass though, he later became friends with all the neighborhood white children and would take them bread in exchange for a lesson in reading and writing. Not after long Douglass began to greatly read and write. From there he would grow up to change the world in many ways. Many believe it was the power that corrupted Mrs.