Today we hear the word war and thoughts shift to the Middle East. In the 60’s we may have thought about Vietnam, in the 40’s perhaps Pearl Harbor or Hitler and in the 20’s maybe the U Boat or the Red Barron. The supposed winner and loser in each war may have crossed the mind as well but not much more. Why did these wars happen? What was being fought for and who was making the sacrifice? In David W. Blight’s article, “The meaning or the fight: Frederick Douglass and the memory of the fifty fourth Massachusetts,” he proves that in modern American society the memory of war is that of a fight and not of what was being fought for. Media, the entertainment industry, and even our education systems paint quite a different picture for each of us. …show more content…
My previous knowledge of Douglass ended there as I would expect most others’ to as well. Using Douglass in this article was probably the strongest hitting point. Blight really opened a new window into the Civil War for me. Douglass helped the blacks to see that allegiance to the country was a big step in the right direction while at the same time enabling them to take pride in their race. Douglass was ahead of his time in his thinking. His urging to reflect upon the battles seemed to be lost on those of his time and remain lost to those of today. Would the black Americans have been as involved in the war without the urging of Douglass? Would things have ended the same? Would my view of the Civil War be different had he not influenced the masses into rising up against the old order? I wonder why, as an American, that I did not know of this great contribution by Douglass before. I am guilty of remembering the contest of war and not even thinking of complicated challenges that were faced by those involved. The dramatics of it all seem a bit easier to swallow. Blight says “…monuments are always about remembrance and forgetting…” and I now agree. A monument looks the same to everyone but its meaning lies within the perception of the viewer. For most, it is easier to see the brave face or the fight. Blight uses the example of the Civil War monument at St. Gaudens to explain this. The monument stands as a reminder of the brave black men that went to war for the Union but
In comparison to John Brown, Douglass wasn’t as violent and his ways of helping the movement were by making lectures and preparing a newspaper titled, the North Star. As a former slave, Douglass had many reasons and background to add fuel to his words, which many took seriously and to heart. Using his words to his advantage, Douglass decided to create the North Star, hopefully to be solely written by the black community who felt the prejudice by others. Douglass hoped that the paper would succeed in planting his ideas, “the purpose of this paper…’will be to attack slavery in all its forms and aspects; advocate Universal Emancipation...promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the colored people; and to hasten the day of freedom to our three million enslaved fellow countrymen,’” (Miller 57-58). The North Star started to grow and become well known, the paper focusing on all kinds of issues, “abolitionism and other reforms were not the sole focus of Douglass’s paper. Just as important were issues of concerns to the free black community apart from antislavery,” (Miller 64). Besides using the newspaper, Douglass made speeches and lectures towards groups of people, many would come and listen to what he had to say about slavery. Douglass focuses on how slaves have suffered and how people should help them, and to not repeat mistakes made in the past, “What, then,
Fredrick Douglass had to pierce the ethnocentric bias of the population at that time. Fredrick Douglass's actions were heroic. He had the discipline not to fight back when harassed by children his age when he was young. He had the fortitude to stick with his goal. He persevered to the end. Fredrick Douglass was an inspiration not only to slaves, but also to
Frederick Douglass is and always will be an African American hero. His actions do and will inspire people to stand up for what they think is right. Frederick Douglass made many achievements, he was an important leader in the abolitionist movement. He made a memoir and a newspaper that both spread awareness about slavery and boosted support for abolitionism. Frederick Douglass will always be remembered for his sacrifices and contributions toward
In the novel “Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn,” Douglass expresses his ideas about what roles he sees for African Americans during and after the war. Douglas believed that the enlistment of black soldiers would help the North win the war and that it would be an immense milestone in the fight for equal rights. Douglass stated in one of his many speeches, “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, US; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket; and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.” Frederick Douglass is basically stating that there should be nothing standing in the way of a black soldier and citizenship if he participates in the war and fights for the cause. Douglass believed that there is no greater service a man can give to his country than risk his life for its honor and freedom. Frederick Douglass pointed out that black soldiers are ready to fight in this war, provided that they receive what they deserve for participating in helping the North move closer towards victory, citizenship, and freedom. He believed that the joining of the Union Army would allow African
Douglass and the abolitionists argued that because the aim of the Civil War was to end slavery, African Americans should be allowed to engage in the fight for their freedom. Douglass met with President Lincoln to discuss the role of blacks in the Civil War. He felt that military service was important in order to service the rights of citizenship and suffrage. In an interview with President Lincoln he advocated for equal treatment, pay and protection of black soldiers as well as rewards with promotion. “Abraham Lincoln referred to him as the most meritorious man of the nineteenth century (Who was Frederick Douglass?).” With the North no longer obliged to return slaves to their owners in the South, Douglass fought for equality for his people. He made plans with Lincoln to move liberated slaves out of the South. During the war, Douglass also helped the Union by serving as a recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. “As soon as he got orders to start recruiting for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment his sons, Charles and Lewis, were one of the first ones to enroll (Douglass’ Role in the Civil War).” “His recruitment efforts were highly successful as regiments quickly filled up. Among the best known articles he wrote in Douglass Monthly are “Another Word to Colored Men”, “Why should a Black Man enlist?” and “Men of Color to Arms (Douglass’ Role in the Civil War).” His employment with the Anti-Slavery Society ended however, Douglass continued to fight for equal rights and full citizenship for African
Christ Hedges, war correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner, in a chapter titled “The Destruction of Culture” from the book War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, asserts that in war a state’s interest is in the extermination of discordant peacetime culture. Hedges asserts his claims that war transforms art, writing, and literature, that people, in disbelief of the consequences of war, favor a myth, and that the state manipulates education and media to reinforce their narrative. Meanwhile, he uses first-hand personal experiences and historical evidence to demonstrate these effects of war. Hedge’s goal is to expose that ugly nature of war in contrast to our natural glorification of it in our perceptions of history in order to propel the cause
Douglass was a very well informed individual for his time, especially being a former slave that taught himself how to read and write. He was very aware of the fundamental principles of the United States and how to interpret each
Intro: "A battle lost or won is easily described, understood and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it." Said Frederick Douglass on January thirteenth, 1864 during a speech for the Women's Loyal League. Frederick Douglass has been called the father of the civil rights movement from becoming a slave to one of the most powerful abolitionists that the world has ever seen. He shaped the American nation through determination and dedicating his life to achieving justice for all Americans, mainly African-Americans, women, and minority groups. Douglass served as an advisor to presidents.
Frederick Douglass lived in a time where slavery was very pronounced in society and black people were not well respected or heard from often. During his time, black people did not have the opportunity to be heard by white people; also there were not very many free blacks. Black people were generally seen, but not heard. In this case, the whites were seen but not heard as Douglass stood before them giving a mesmerizing speech that would surely make them think. Throughout his speech, Frederick Douglass points out inconsistencies that whites said time and time again. The reason they said all those positive things, was so that they would come off as a caring, unified nation. In reality, they were very domineering over those who were slaves.
What they fought for is an analysis of a collection of nearly a thousand personal letters and journals entries written by the soldiers who fought America’s famous Civil War. This book seeks to define the ideology of what the soldiers understood they were fighting for, and their comprehension of the outcome of their service .Although counter arguments agree that most soldiers could not give a solid explanation of why they fought for, nor the real Constitutional issues that were at stake; the thoughts the soldiers recorded show that they fought for more than just masculine identity; they highly valued being at home safe with their loved ones, at any cost. This book gives an inside perception of the Civil War, and a
Douglass welcomed the conflict as the cataclysmic event needed to wipe slavery from America. As always, he acted as the "nation's conscience", arguing that the war was about more than union and state's rights. It was, he said, about a new birth of freedom, a great step towards the nation promised in the Declaration of Independence. Douglass knew that this new freedom had to be won both on and off the battlefield. Though he was too old to serve in battle, himself he recruited other African Americans to fight in the Union Army, including two of his sons, who served with the famous 54th Massachusetts. Away from the fighting Douglass continued to write and speak against slavery, arguing for a higher purpose to the war. He met with with Abraham Lincoln to advocate for African American troops and to encourage Lincoln to see the war as a chance to transform the country into a more perfect nation. Douglass' influence was crucial to Lincoln's evolution as a thinker over the course of the war. This influence can be seen in the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second inaugural
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.
The home of Frederick Douglass is a peculiar type of museum. Located in Anacostia, Southeast DC, the home sits on top a hill removed from the rest of the neighborhood. Frederick Douglass named this hill Cedar Hill: an astounding place. The park is a national site, so park rangers guides the tours and gives any information one wanted to know about Mr. Douglass, his family, or the house. Before going into the actual museum, the park rangers give the option of watching a film about Frederick Douglass. While the rangers prepared the film, visitors are allowed to look around the part of the museum that hold quotes and busts of Mr. Douglass. What I read and saw is a warped narrative in comparison to how Howard University taught me. The works displayed gives the false pretense that Mr. Douglass’ radical agenda was for the progress of the United States for the ends of the liberation of Black
When you think of great Americans in our history there are countless that come to mind. Some immediately think of the many presidents we have had, others think of inventors, but what about the people that are in between – the people that fought for equality. Fredrick Douglass arguably had the greatest impact on American society, especially African American society, in the nineteenth century. Douglass is credited as being an abolitionist, author, editor, and diplomat. He used literature, books, newspapers, and even speeches, to leave a long lasting mark on our society. Douglass advised presidents and lectured to thousands about different causes, including women’s rights. A cause he felt a strong connection with was the abolishing of slavery, being that he was once a slave.
In the two hundred years since 1775, there has been thirty-five years of fighting in what we consider major conflicts or wars. This averages out to about one year of war to every almost 6 years of our existence as a nation and during that time, we have not been without formal military organizations. Over the course of history, the United States has engaged in many battles that were a crucial phase in developing who and what we have become. Throughout this assessment, we will analyze what were some of the true tipping points that shaped (1) America’s paradoxical love-hate relationship with war and, (2) How this relationship influences American warfare.