Why does Frederick Douglass say to be accused was to be convicted and to be convicted was to be punished?

Answer 1

We owe a great debt to Frederick Douglass for sharing his painfully acquired wisdom with the world. One of the most beneficial gifts he gave to us is his intimate knowledge of how slavery behaves; the actions of slavery. Far too often today the word "slavery" is used as merely a buzz-word for the purpose of inciting emotion and, thereby, circumventing rational thought. Your question refers to one of these specific actions.

Douglass was talking about how slavers and overseers denied their slavers the opportunity to speak up for themselves. That was not even an option. If the overseer accused them of something, a slave could not offer any form of reason or defense of their actions nor could they offer evidence of their innocence. Once the slaver had made a claim, everything the slave said contrary to that claim was considered misinformation or disinformation. In fact, questioning or challenging the slaver/overseer would result in even worse punishment in many cases. How do you suppose this affected the other slaves after witnessing this? As one would expect, it resulted in the coercion of compliance. In one instance Douglass and other slaves witnessed a fellow slave being shot right in the face for defying an overseer. Imagine the impact that has on the group mind. This is why, as Douglass often pointed out, slaves would typically take the side of the slaver/overseer against their fellow slaves.

Ultimately it is a question of due process. Human beings who cannot defend themselves in word or deed are dehumanized and defined as property. Douglass repeatedly refers to this as being reduced to the position of an animal. In fact, Douglass goes on to say in his second autobiography that a person who is not allowed the appropriate capacity for force in the face of such oppression is "without the essential dignity of humanity."

The take-away here is that arbitrarily labeling and accusing others with the goal or hope that it could result in adverse consequences for the accused is part of what Douglass called the "law of slavery." Of course, the slavers/overseers never consider the accusations arbitrary but necessary. It is extremely unfortunate, then, that, today, there are many who believe they are "resisting" the legacy of slavery and oppression who continually support and engage in what this great man experienced as part of the "law of slavery."

Answer 2

He was talking about an overseer at the plantation where he worked as a child. The overseer was cruel, and even if a slave was perfectly innocent, once they were accused of wrongdoing by the overseer, they were to be punished immediately.