Frederick Douglass Contributions

friends with John Brown. John had a vision of training groups of men to help

In a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave written by himself, the author argues that no one can be enslaved if he or she has the ability to read, write, and think. Douglass supports his claim by first providing details of his attempts to earn an education, and secondly by explaining the conversion of a single slaveholder. The author’s purpose is to reveal the evils of slavery to the wider public in order to gain support for the abolition of his terrifying practice. Based on the purpose of writing the book and the graphic detail of his stories, Douglass is writing to influence people of higher power, such as abolitionists, to abolish the appalling reality of slavery; developing a sympathetic relationship with the

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, or better known, Frederick Douglass was born in February 1818 to Harriet Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland. For a long time, Frederick did not know his birthdate or his family lineage and it haunted him till the day he died. Frederick Douglas family lineage reach as far back into the beginnings of America and maybe even further into American prehistory. Douglass was believed to have Native American blood in him. Just from the description of him, “his broad forehead, heavy cheekbones, and yellow-brown skin” (Preston, pg.9) and his childhood master calling him “little Indian boy” (Preston, pg.9) made a lot of people assume that he was. Douglass once recalled about the time when a stranger on a Hudson River steamer “‘who took me for one of the noble red men of the far West.’…Douglas replied that he was not an Indian but a Negro, he said the man turned away in disgust.” (Preston, pg.9) Frederick Douglass was proud that he was a Negro even though he had no problems with Native Americans.

Who do you consider a revolutionist? Did they help change the world in a helpful way?Growing up a slave, Frederick Douglass was sent to a Baltimore home where he learned to read and write from his slave owner and neighborhood children. As he got older Frederick later taught other slaves on the plantation to read and write Working Thesis: Frederick Douglass has helped changed todays racial society do to his persuasive words he used to bring attention to the worlds society of the time

Frederick Douglass once said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning” (Think Exist). Frederick Douglass, a man born into slavery overcame numerous obstacles to eventually become a chief abolitionist as well as a diplomat. Frederick Douglass got his hands on a book entitled “The Columbian Orator” and introduced himself to the word abolitionist. This sparked his interest and set off a fiery passion for freedom. Douglass realized that slaveholders used ignorance as a tool to enslave their subjects; slaveholders did not want slaves to have the capacities of reading and writing.

Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1818, he was the son of a slave woman and, her white master. Upon his escape from slavery at age 20, he adopted the name of the hero of Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. Douglass immortalized his years as a slave in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845). This and two other autobiographies, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), mark his greatest contributions to American culture. Written as antislavery propaganda and personal revelation, they are regarded as the finest examples of the slave narrative tradition and as classics of American autobiography.

When speaking of how African Americans evolved from being slaves to becoming free, one must not fail to mention the life and accomplishments of Frederick Douglass. The actions taken by Frederick Douglas and others that pave the way were perceived as huge achievements then and now. Negros, as they were called in the 17th and 18th century where considered nothing more than slaves. Being a slave did not grant human rights to anything at any time or any place. But Frederick Douglass had different plans other than only being a slave. Overcoming slavery would become a life long journey with the thoughts of becoming a free man the only possible option.

Bibliography Staff, History.com. “History.com.” http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/frederick-douglass January 15, 2009 Douglass, Frederick. Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.

Simi Singh Dr. Gough Ap US (F) Dec. 01.2017 View of Equalities in America In the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American slave, written by Frederick Douglass, himself. In this novel Douglass writes about his life as a slave and the horrors that came with it. Douglass also writes about his beliefs, and by doing so connects with the Grimke sisters.

Frederick Douglass spent his first 7 years of life on Captain Anthony’s farm, working in the house. Here, he had a much easier time than those who worked in the fields. Those who worked in the field were treated poorly like most southern slaves. Slaves received little to no food, few clothes, and often slept on the ground with no bed. Frederick spent his time

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an account of Frederick Douglass’ life written in a very detached and objective tone. You might find this tone normal for a historical account of the events of someone’s life if not for the fact that the narrative was written by Frederick Douglass himself. In light of the fact that Douglass wrote his autobiography as a treatise in support of the abolishment of slavery, the removed tone was an effective tone. It gave force to his argument that slavery should be done away with.

Frederick Douglass believed that all people were born equal, but he also believed that humans were not just automatically born free. He deduced that man has the innate instinctive ability to mold themselves into whoever they wanted to become. So, naturally self-improvement and education were two crucial aspects of Frederick’s life. To Douglass the most horrific thing about slavery was the fact that slaves were totally and completely precluded from and form of education, which prevented them from improving themselves. Douglass worked exceedingly hard to obtain an education in order to ultimately become a free man. Although he still had to physically escape slavery his education played a vital role in his journey to freedom.

Frederick Douglass has woven many themes into his narrative, all being tied with a common thread of man’s inhumanity towards man. Children were uprooted from the arms of their mothers, "before the child has reached it’s twelfth month, it’s mother is taken from it" (48) and sold to other slave holders. Brutal whippings occurred for even the smallest imagined offense, "a mere look, word, or motion" (118), women were treated as no better than common concubines and the slaves were forced into living quarters, "on one common bed… cold, damp floor" (55) worse than some of the farm animals. The slaves were not allowed even the most meager portion of food, "eight pounds of pork and one bushel of corn meal" (54) to last a month. Clothes were scarce and illness was never tolerated. It was unthinkable for the slaves to practice any type of religion, hold any gatherings, become literate to any degree, "unlawful… unsafe, to teach a slave to read" (78) or even make the simple decision of when to eat and sleep.

When he was on a plantation, farther away from prying eyes and ears, the slave masters and overseers would treat them harsher with more brutality than what would be accepted in the city, but this did nothing to slow Frederick Douglass down in his determination to be free. It is believed that there was more moral in the city slave master then there was in the plantation slave master.“A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation… There is a vestige of decency, a sense of shame, that does much to curb and check those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonly enacted upon the plantation.”(49). When Douglass was in Baltimore, he learned to read and to write, at first from his mistress, but once she was warned away from doing so, she would try to keep him as far away from books and reading, but this only made him determined to read. “ … the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to

In the narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts his childhood as a slave. Life as a slave is depressing and dehumanizing to say the least. Slaves live their whole lives oppressed by overseers, slaveholders, and society as a whole. Although, contrary to popular belief, slaveholders were also negatively affected by slavery. Not only did slavery change the way they viewed others, it perverted their morals as well. Essentially, any sane person given absolute power over another person has the potential to be cruel and treat others as less than human. The oppressive system of slavery harms not only the slaves, but the slaveholders as well as it morally corrupts the slaveholders by granting them absolute power over other human beings.