Upon Captain Anthony's death in 1833, Frederick was returned to rural Maryland and eventually became the property of Thomas Auld. Considered too "independent" by his new owner, teenage Frederick was placed in the care of Edward Covey, a man who had a reputation as a fierce slave-breaker. Covey beat him mercilessly and without justification. Douglass considered the turning point in his life to be the moment when he resisted Covey's beating. Covey couldn't break his spirit, and, for the first time in Frederick's life, a white man backed down.
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