The Slavery And Summary Of Frederick Douglass

This is hypocritical in that the white men make these values and traditions a staple of their lives, yet when it comes to slaves, they seem to go away. He also believes that, though he will use “the severest language”(Douglass) he can, he firmly believes that “not one word shall escape me that any man whose… not blinded by prejudice, or… a slave-holder, shall not confess to be right and just”(Douglass). So he sincerely believes that the average human being also knows that the treatment of slaves is unjust and unethical, but they choose not to act on these thoughts. His view, coming from the eyes and thoughts of slaves across America, show how hypocritical the nation actually is in both one sided values and not acting upon their knowledge that what is going on is wrong.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” This famous quote is from a speech given by one of America’s most influential abolitionist speakers, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, this great American leader led a life many of us would find impossible to bear. After gaining his freedom from slavery, Douglass shared his stories through impressive speeches and vivid autobiographies, which helped America move forward as a country liberated from racial inequality. Although Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave allows readers to understand what life was like for slaves in antebellum America, the most important and relevant lesson to take away from this narrative today is the importance of perseverance. Douglass’s courage to resist and learn paired with his determination to keep his faith and ultimately find himself, is something to which people from every culture and time period can relate.

The Civil War is widely regarded as the bloodiest war in US history. Roughly 620,000 soldiers died fighting both for and against the abolition of slavery. During this era, many advocates for the abolition of slavery gave speeches in order to convince the nation of the evils of the institution of slavery. One of the most important of these advocates was a former slave named Frederick Douglass who became literate while a slave and gave many speeches to many different audiences. In Frederick Douglass’ speech to the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society on July 5, 1852, entitled ¨What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?¨, he presents his goals of abolishing slavery and enforcing equality between people of color and white people. Although legally it appears that his goals have been accomplished, the mindset and inequality of Douglass’ time still exists, and it is becoming more prevalent in the US.

During the mid 1800’s, slavery was a large problem in southern America. The slaves were underclassmen who had no rights, were treated terribly, and were often harshly punished. Many African Americans were angered with the poor treatment, and could not do anything about it. Change was in order, but America had not made any changes. That is until Frederick Douglass, an escape-slave, spoke at a large Fourth of July celebration in Rochester, New York about slavery in the United States. Frederick Douglass was once a slave in the South, but he was able to escape to Northern America, where he worked as a laborer to make a living for himself. Douglass was then able to buy his own freedom within the United States, enabling him to start a newspaper column supporting the anti-slavery movement. He wrote about the lack of rights African slaves had and what could be done differently within the United States. Until one day he was able to finally tell everyone the truth about America and the African American slaves during his speech. Frederick Douglass supports the theme that all people should have the same independence rights in his speech “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” with the use allusions and repetition.

In What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, Frederick Douglass talks about his thoughts regarding how “the American slave trade, (is) sustained by American politics and American religion” (Douglass, p. 7). Douglass starts off in his speech pointing out the differences that Americans of different color encounter. A notable difference is how a person of color can be enslaved. Slavery was most significant for southern states, though through laws that changed. He says that “by an act of the American Congress...slavery has been nationalized in its most horrible and revolting form…(and) is now an institution of the whole United States” (Douglass, p.8). Douglass continues that through the use of “the

In this theme, Fredrick Douglass contrasts the both forms of Christianity to show the underlying hypocrisy in slavery. The results show that slavery is not religious as it exposes the evils in human bondage. These ideals however can be distorted so as to fit in the society.

Was slavery making slaves more “useful” or just making them more unskilled than before they came here? During the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an autobiography, Douglass shows how slaves were getting dehumanized in the time of slavery and how slave owners became corrupted and evil while under the influences of slavery. Douglass’s goal was to present to the Christian northerners who did not know much about slavery how terrible slavery was for slaves and also how it corrupted slave owners.

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” is a memoir that depicts the hardships and brutalities, Fredrick himself and other slaves suffered during the time of slavery in the 1800’s. Throughout Douglass’ narrative, he describes the common casualties of growing up, and the limited information he is provided with. This is a direct connection between the ignorance of slaves and the lack of education granted. To limit the knowledge of slaves, establishes the superiority of the white man. As Douglass grows and is relocated from time to time, he soon realizes that this corrupt world in which is a norm to himself and slaves across the nation, is a lifestyle that is not to be lived. Douglass soon learns to read and write where he then links education to the idea of freedom. Throughout the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” as Frederick Douglass teaches himself to read and write, and becomes more educated on the cruelties that are happening around him, Douglass concludes that his truest shot at freedom is through the achievement of knowledge and the increased understanding of education.

During the time of slavery, black men were not known to be human and therefore, slaves were thought to be undeserving of the same freedoms as whites; this caused them to be disciplined in unpleasant and harsh ways. Christianity was distorted by slave owners as an excuse that the slaves must submit to their masters. In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, the author, Frederick Douglass (1845/1995) proves that slaves deserved their freedom because of their humanity, religionists supported their actions with misinterpreted beliefs, and blacks received their punishment in many different forms.

Months after he escaped from the slavery, Douglass called Murray to see him in New York then they married and lived in New Bedford, Massachusetts where there were a lot of black people. Frederick joined a black church and commonly be present at abolitionist meetings. He also subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal The Liberator. Ultimately Douglass was requested to tell his story at abolitionist conferences, after which he became a regular anti-slavery lecturer. William Lloyd Garrison was impressed with Douglass’ strength and oratorical skill, and wrote of him in The Liberator. After several days, Douglass delivered his first speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket. Crowds were not always welcoming to him as he was contributing in 1843 a lecture tour through the Midwest, Douglass was hunted and beaten by a mob before he was rescued by a local Quaker family.

The book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” was written by Frederick Douglass. It is based on a true story where Douglass writes down about his life as a slave where he was born in Tuckahoe near Hillsborough. However, his mother was an African American while his father was white. The problem was that all the slaves did not know their birthday therefore, Douglas did not know his own age. Although, his master will tell him that he was around seventeen years old during 1835. So since his master told him he was seventeen then “the nearest estimate he gives himself now that he grew is between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years old” (Douglass, 4).

Logan Sewell Peyser, Thomas. "The Attack on Christianity in NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE. " The Explicator 69.2: 86-89.

What does Frederick Douglass talk about in his story? In Douglass’s story he discusses the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. While reading you find that slaves are mistreated and the differences between how blacks lived in the South compared to the North.

Patrick Henry once said, “give me liberty, or give me death.” In the eyes of Frederick Douglass and countless others enslaved, this took on a much deeper meaning to them. “It was doubtful liberty at most, and almost certain death is we failed.” [51] Frederick Douglass was one of the most commonly known slaves to have existed. Slavery has been around since the 1700s, but the subject of slavery is controversial because it not only includes information written from former slaves, but information acquired from historians. The question that has with stood the test of time is, “are these encounters that have been written out, exaggerated or the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” In the early 1800’s Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and grew up on Colonial Edward Lloyd’s plantation. Children would be separated from their mothers before they were twelve months in age-Frederick too was separated from his mother. As a result of entering slave-hood at an early age, he did not know his birthdate (like most slaves). Frederick Douglass’s account on slavery could be seen as biased as a result of first hand experiences with being held as a slave. Although, Douglass is able to be direct our thoughts to these experiences in such a light, you feel as if you are witnessing it happen right before you. Because of Douglass’s quest for freedom, his daring attitude, and determination to learn, he shows us the way through American Slavery in his eyes. Douglass provides

The author of the narrative starts by first giving a vivid description of the protagonist’s birth and the circumstances that surrounded his birth. It is in the introduction that the author informs the readers about the fact that Douglass was born between the years 1817 and 1818, showing that he was not sure about the protagonist’s birth date. During this period, the environment that Frederick was born into is characterized by many cases of slavery. Slave traders used to buy even infant babies so long as they were male. As a result of this, the union between Frederick and his mother, named Harriet was short-lived because they were eventually separated a short period after his birth.