Was Frederick Douglas An Abolitionist?

Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever.

Douglass got his passion to promote freedom for all slaves after he escaped from slavery and ultimately had an end goal to “abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, and promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the coloured people and hasten the day of freedom to the three million of enslaved fellow countrymen”. He also wrote several autobiographies describing his experiences as a slave. One of the autobiographies in particular, ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’ published in 1845 was a best-selling and was extremely influential for promoting the cause of abolition. The narrative shows a compelling argument to basic human rights thus making it extremely influential as the narrative clearly possesses features and linguistic skills, which for most white people, negated their common perception of black people being illiterate in the 19th century.

Throughout history, there have been many black-rights activists that use their power of speaking to fight injustice and promote equality. One of those activists, who fought for equality with the power of his words, was Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He had a vision of the roles of African Americans during and after the war to ensure they receive citizenship and freedom. Frederick Douglass faced many tribulations throughout his life and that only made his speeches for equality and justice that much more powerful because he was a victim of injustice. Douglass believed that if African Americans want to have citizenship and be seen as equals, they must prove that they deserve it. In order to prove that African Americans deserve citizenship, Douglass encouraged them to enlist and join the fight for equality. Although there were obstacles in seeing his vision implemented Douglass stood his ground and fought until his vision becomes reality.

The power of education was also a key argument in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, but it was not an argument with a consistent meaning. Although Frederick Douglass believes that the only way to freedom for him and his fellow slaves, is through learning how to build on. At the same time Douglass is disgusted with education because it lets him know and fully understand the extent and horrors of slavery. Later, he finds out that while the conditions are slightly better there is still a great deal of injustice. He then begins to think getting his education could be his way to liberty and freedom and though he endeavors to learn much as he can, he starts to doubt whether he is correct or not. He then state “I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (47). In the end, these elements of freedom-becoming educated-led to his last act of rebellion, which he thought would bring him freedom. H e engages in a fight with his master. He can no longer stand his new sense of education and knowledge. He states “This battle with Mr.

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

Douglass’ new found perspective of enslavement opens his eyes to the action he must take to liberate his fellow slaves. After his escape, Douglass discovers a newspaper called The Liberator. Through this newspaper, Douglass states he got “a pretty correct idea of the principles, measures and spirit of the anti-slavery reform” and because of this he “took right hold of the cause” (pg. 120). Douglass realizes that he must do more than improve himself in order to make a change. As a result, he joins the abolitionist movement. Had it not been for his base of self-taught knowledge, Douglass would not have had the opportunity to escape enslavement and make a change by joining the abolition

Frederick Douglass was the champion to a lot of people especially those enslave at that time. It’s easy to imagine slavery but hard to see it. Douglass was inspired by his own story which then inspired millions of others. He is confronted with a challenging task in his writing by trying to fulfil the need. Frederick Douglass opens up people eyes. His book helps to see through his eyes, someone who resisted and fought for freedom for each and every one of us. The road of inspiration taken by Frederick Douglass lead to his freedom along with leading others to freedom.

Fredrick Douglass (1818-1945), both a fugitive slave and a free man, was one of the most courageous and influential leaders of the abolitionist movement. His narrative, published in 1845, illustrates his childhood and early manhood experiences as a salve, as well as his escape to the North and find of freedom. Within his narrative entitled “The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass,” Douglass argues that in order to achieve physical freedom, a slave must seek knowledge and an education.

The purpose behind Fredrick Douglass’s Narrative was to appeal to the other abolitionists who he wanted to convince that slave owners were wrong for their treatment of other human beings. His goal was to appeal to the middle-class people of that time and persuade them to get on board with the abolitionist movement. Douglass had a great writing style that was descriptive as well as convincing. He stayed away from the horrific details of the time, which helped him grasp the attention of the women who in turn would convince their husbands to help by donating money and eventually ending slavery. He used his words effectively in convincing the readers that the slave owners were inhuman and showed how they had no feelings for other human

Frederick Douglass is the most famous African-American abolitionists and the greatest American orators. Throughout American history, African-Americans were victims of American governmental policies of harsh slavery. However, Frederick Douglass transforms the way people should understand slavery. He takes charge of upholding slavery to himself and defends the freedom for those in slavery. While other African-Americans did not have a voice, he became the voice for African-American slavery. In this way, Frederick Douglass is a mental and physical hero because of his courage and achieving freedom from slavery through his strength of character and education.

Douglass also served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of our American history. Frederick Douglass was also worked very hard in the women’s rights movement. He once said

Douglass can get attention from all people do to his words. Frederick book has discussed his life growing up as a slave and his feelings/perception of the issue.“Douglass immortalized his years as a slave in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American

Education is heavily valued in the United States. Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist and activist in advocating for equality in public education in America. In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, he describes his life as a slave and the conditioned he endured in order to become a free man. Education is a prominent theme throughout the narrative. Douglass constantly faced the conflict of becoming literate and abandoning it entirely. As a child, his master showed great disapproval of his learning to read, which he then understood that education had value. This encouraged Douglass and he learned to read by other means. By becoming literate, he further understood slavery and the despondency of his and other slaves’ position.

In this book Fredrick Douglass finds shows himself growing up as a slave in Baltimore, Maryland. He eventually escapes from his master and becomes a run away slave as he flees to the north. Douglass however is most popularly known for his pressure on the supreme court to obtain equal rights for African American citizens. He made huge advances in civil rights for his fellow African American brothers and sisters. His contributions have caused a balancing of society that is still getting better to this day.

Frederick Douglass was one of the most influential men of the anti-slavery movement. He stood up for what he believed in, fought hard to get where he got and never let someone tell him he could not do something. Frederick Douglass made a change in this country that will always be remembered.