The Importance Of Color In David Walker's Four Articles

In paragraph two of “ Learning to Read and Write”, Fredrick Douglass wrote “education and slavery were incompatible with each other.” Fredrick Douglass explained through his writing of his past three reasons why education and slavery do not mix well together. Through storytelling Douglass tells about everyday life with the mistress. First Douglass tells the story on how punishment came with learning from the master’s wife. He talks about how when he was a child that he would sit and read a book. That he would read a book until the master’s wife caught him. When caught by the mistress, she would beat him for reading without permission. Douglass second reason why slavery and education don’t mix is through his tellings about being segregated

Mr. Douglass learned to read and write. His mistress according to Mr. Douglass, “kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters” (Douglass, 48). Which would have been illegal. She didn’t stop teaching him until her husband’s response to teaching him to read “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master – to do as he is told to do. Learning will spoil the best nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.” Mr. Douglass considered the pathway to his freedom to be learning to read and that keeping him illiterate was the means of the white man’s power so he set out to learn how to read and according to him “The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street” (Douglass, 52). He learned how to use the system to his advantage. He learned that “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation” (Douglass, 49). And used this to his advantage. He also was able to get “the privilege of hiring

During the 1800’s, the institution of slavery was still ongoing in the few slave states left in America. Slavery was still proving to be unjust and unfair, not allowing for African Americans to be considered equals. However, some slaves were able to overcome the many restrictions and boundaries that slavery forced upon them. In Frederick Douglass’ essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglass portrays himself as an intelligent and dignified slave who’s able to overcome the racial boundaries placed upon him. Frederick Douglass saw that his only pathway to freedom was through literacy, so his goal was to learn how to read and write no matter the circumstances. Douglass realized

Douglass had the unusual privilege of receiving the beginnings of an education from the wife of one of his masters, Mrs. Auld. Her lessons were cut short when she was discovered by her husband who, "forbade her. . . telling her it was unsafe to teach a slave to read . . . because he would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master". From this experience, Douglass learned that education was his "pathway from slavery to freedom". In essence, the act of keeping the black man ignorant was "the white man's power to enslave the black man"(Douglass 1776).

Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that an education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054). He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054). Douglass discovered that the “white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2054) was in his literacy and education. As long as the

Throughout the history of slavery in the United States, it was common practice not only for slaveholders to neglect to teach their slaves to read or write, but also for them to outright forbid literacy among slaves. This was done in order to limit the slaves knowledge and modes of communication, making it more difficult for them to learn about the abolitionist movement or for for them to share their situation with the world outside of slavery. Like many other slaves, Frederick Douglass was not allowed to learn to read or write. In his autobiography; “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass retells how he managed to become literate in a time where most African Americans were forbidden from literacy, and how this knowledge allowed him to eventually escape slavery.

However, Douglass tells us that through pseudoscience and the prevention of slaves from learning how to read and write gave the white slave-owners tangible evidence for their findings. Douglass continues saying that the inability of slaves to read and write made them dependent on their owners. Slave-owners understood that if slaves became educated, that would be the first step to dissent (Douglass 20). By controlling the slave’s education, they were able to control what the rest of America knew about slavery. Until slaves like Frederick Douglass came around, the common northerner had little to no idea what slaves actually went through.

Throughout this excerpt from his autobiography, Frederick Douglass constantly refers to the importance of Education and Literacy. He continuously details not only that education represented power, but also that an educated and literate slave would be dangerous in the eyes of the slave-loving southerners. Education all throughout time has represented knowledge, and knowledge is seen as power, both of which could easily corrupt someone, hence why slave owners chose to keep slaves in the dark in regards to education. Douglass argued that education was seen as the key to success and free thoughts, however, both were luxuries unknown to a slave unless they took matters into their own hands.

In reading “The Columbian Orator” by Caleb Binghams, Douglass learns that the slave industry is dependent on the constant and absolute control of slaveholders over their slaves.[] Therefore, in order to maintain control, slaveholders perpetuated slavery by maintaining their slave’s ignorance and depriving them of an education.[] By doing so, slave owners reduced their slave’s state of mind to that of an animal, unable to think, speak and advocate for themselves. After reading “The Columbian Orator,” in particular the Dialogues Between a Master and Slave by John Aikins, Douglass understood the “pathway from slavery to freedom;” becoming educated.[] Fredrick Douglass provides the strong argument that in order to achieve physical freedom, a slave must achieve mental freedom. Through knowledge and an education, slaves can achieve mental freedom which will give them a sense of self-sufficiency and capacity.[] Through this mental freedom, slaves will have the ability to exhibit control over

Since slaves were not allowed schooling, illiteracy was very common for African Americans slaves. For many people not accustomed to slavery, it was believed that slavery was simply a state of natural being. People believed African Americans were inherently incapable of residing in their society and consequently should live as laborers for white slave owners. Enforcing illiteracy among children deprived them of their necessary morality and ethics. Southern slave owners used this to their advantage control how the remainder of the country viewed slavery. If slaves were illiterate, they were incapable of telling their side of slavery. Douglass is saying that knowledge is key to winning against slavery. His quote, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (Douglass) describes his transformation as a slave with little knowledge and education to a man who has become very knowledgeable and educated to beat slavery. Douglass uses knowledge as the road to his freedom. He seeks knowledge and education to help slaves voice the wrong doings slaveholders are bringing upon blacks. Douglass helps slaves discover their selves not as slaves but as men instead.

During Douglass’s child hood, it was with great intent that slaves should not have any education. When his master found out his wife was teaching him the alphabet be became furious and said, “if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (Douglass 1762). This was only motivation for Douglass. The things his master said to him gave him did not tear him down but give him more motivation. His master told his wife, “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell” (Douglass 1762). Later in the narrative he explains how he would sneak and read books to help him read. Once when he was caught by his mistress he said, “Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglass 1764). He was not going to stop now until he learned to read.

At the beginning of the story Fredrick describes social impacts on how the slaves were forbidden to learn how to read and write. The slave-owners would explain how it would harm the slaves if they had any form of education. When the young slaves grew older, the slaveholders seemed to prevent them from learning anything, as if it would damage the whites because they would all end up having a sense of self-sufficiency. Since the whites thought they were incapable to society, in order for the slaves to pursue freedom they must

When Hugh Auld let Sophia Auld stop teaching Douglass education lessons, afraid Douglass would not be manageable anymore. Douglass states that "against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn"(Douglass,30). From his master's words, Douglass understood that the reason why slaveholders would not allowed to learn reading lessons, whites afraid slaves knew they are not naturally enslaved by others. Douglass wanted to be educated to become

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the dehumanization of slaves often occurs, as white plantation owners view slaves as objects undeserving of humane treatment in order to uphold power and warrant their unjust practices. Limiting knowledge and prohibiting education for African Americans was one strategy common among slave owners, as “it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant” (17). Due to their lack of intellect, slaves could not recognize the injustices of the slavery system and had little chances of escaping. When Mrs. Auld attempts to teach Frederick Douglass how to read and write, Mr. Auld claims, “A n***** should know nothing but to obey

This was quite the main perception to their teachings to their slaves as being incapable of learning, fear kept the slaveholders from educating their slaves about the truth they consciously new. Douglass became convinced that the only way men can be enslaved is by remaining ignorant. This idea would pave the pathway to one of the greatest slave escapes of all time.