Maggie Grundy Mrs. Carey Hush E 3 October 2014 Frederick Douglass: Introduction and Outline I. Frederick Douglass used his words through his writing and speeches to express his desire for freedom and equal rights for the African-American slaves. Douglass encouraged equal rights and liberties for his fellow people as a Civil Rights leader. He wrote three autobiographies about his hardships through life and established "The North Star" which was an anti-slavery newspaper. Douglass knew the value of his skills were and took every opportunity, in writing and speeches, to show the brutality of slavery. (Thesis) Frederick Douglass is a leader and a legacy in American History because of his use of words to fight for the freedom and rights of African …show more content…
He started reading the Liberator, a popular abolitionist newspaper established by William Lloyd Garrison and attending antislavery meetings at local African American churches, sometimes speaking about his slavery experiences. In August 1841, at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society Conference, his speech brought about the attention of Garrison and other leading white abolitionists. The abolitionist were impressed with Douglass' eloquence and moving presence hired him as a lecturer. Over the next two years, Douglass delivered hundreds of speeches for the anti-slavery audiences throughout New England and New York. In 1843, Douglass united with other leading abolitionist speakers on the Hundred Conventions tour, with the idea to strengthen the abolitionist belief. His speaking skills made him increasingly popular and well respected in the anti-slavery movement. But anti-slavery lecturing was a dangerous job. Douglass and his associates were commonly a victim of assaults, such as, throwing of food and mob violence. Also, as a runaway slave, his growing fame put him in constant danger of being recaptured. Douglass's popularity and credibility grew even more after he published his autobiography, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, which allowed many American citizens to understand the brutality of slavery. Douglass’ colleagues were afraid …show more content…
This ended connections with Garrison and his colleagues, who endangered him to violent public attacks, which included shameful allegations about his personal conduct. Douglass believed in the persuasion of politics and violence for ending slavery. . During this time, Douglass opened up to the idea of abolitionist violence. In 1849, Douglass encouraged slave violence informing a Boston audience that he would wish for news that slaves have rebelled and "were engaged in spreading death and devastation" throughout the South (Benjamin Quarles, Allies for Freedom [1974], p. 67). After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which put the government and citizens of the United States in the affair of capturing and returning escaped slaves. Douglass publicly argued opposition of the law, with violence if essential. Douglass was active in the Underground Railroad, making his house in Rochester a safe haven for the runaway slaves in hiding and aiding them on their way to Canada. In 1852 his novel, The Heroic Slave, showed Douglass's increasing appeal to the use of violence is apparent. In the novel, the leader of a gory slave revolt was praised and honored. Later, Douglass was included in scheming for John Brown's 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He secretly gathered funds for the raid, even though he believed it was not well devised. When the raid was
He spoke impromptly in many places, but his most famous speech that helped to kick start his role in the anti-slavery movement, was in Nantucket where he told the story of his life as a slave. This speech was so moving that one of the attendees, Lloyd Garrison, asked him to become a public speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society. Shortly after he joined the American Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass published his first autobiography entitled, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. During this time, he was also writing for many different newspapers, such as North Star, Fredrick Douglass’ Paper, and Douglass’ Monthly. Fredrick was a very strong advocate for the freedom of slaves and worked very closely with President Lincoln to help fight for freedom.
Frederick Douglass began his journey in the abolitionist movement when he was asked to tell his story in front of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society (MAS). Due to his great speaking abilities he was hired as an agent for MAS. He eventually wrote an autobiography known as "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" in 1845. Frederick Douglass described his experiences with slavery which contributed to the abolitionist movement. Douglass began his career as a speaker, traveling around the US and trying to gain subscribers to the Liberator.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass is one individual who most completely fits the definition of a “great” individual. His entire life was dedicated to breaking down the walls that separated any person from their given rights. This historic figure greatly increased the strength of the abolitionist movement, Douglass’s greatest passion, with his writing and oration. Frederick Douglass began life as a slave but rose to become a Presidential advisor and ambassador. This figure is important due to his legacy in history, personal ideals, and the audiences that listened.
On September 3, 1838, Douglass finally freed himself of the cruel chains of slavery at the age of twenty. After attending several abolitionist meetings, Douglass himself was asked to share his slave story. William Lloyd Garrison, leader of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, was very impressed with Douglass's strength in public speaking and rhetorical skills, and wrote about him in his newspaper. Douglass went on to give many more speeches and at the urgency of Garrison released an autobiography of his life in 1845. His book became a best seller in the United States and provided a voice of hope for others in the same condition.
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818 to a slave, Harriet Bailey, and a white slave master. As a slave, Frederick Douglass was deprived of all his inalienable rights and dignity by potentially his “father” and other white slave masters. Douglass was further subjugated by the slave master withholding his age and actual birth date because “it was the wish of most masters within [his] knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant”. Through a systematic process practice by slave owners during the 1800s, Douglass was separated from his mother; the slave owners concubine as an infant the same way a dog breeder today splits a litter without regard to the long term effects. In fact, this act of derision was
“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery: Slavery at its best” Frederick Douglass an activist for anti racism and also an abolitionist’s speech “The Hypocrisy of Slavery” was given on the occasion of celebrating the independence day. Here, in this speech he actually brought out some questions like why we should celebrate Independence Day while almost four million people were kept chained as a slave. He actually mocked the fact of the people of America’s double standards which is that they are singing out the song of liberty, on the other hand holding the chain of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former American-African slave who managed to escape from his slavery and later on became an abolitionist gave this speech on Fourth of July,
Frederick Douglass’ The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich were influential works that challenged the oppressive societal and governmental institutions of their times. Although they shared a common purpose, similar themes, and similar context surrounding their creation, Douglass and Solzhenitsyn achieve their purpose through differing rhetorical elements. Douglass’ Narrative was published in 1845, as the conflict between anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces reached new heights leading up to the Civil War. Douglass’ purpose in writing his narrative is unabashedly anti-slavery. It was intended to reach a wide audience through the press, and to garner support for the
During this time, he was giving anti-slavery speeches at different venues and in 1847; he started his own anti-slavery newspaper called The North Star. The papers slogan was "Right is of no Sex—Truth is of no Color—God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren" (loc.gov) and swiftly became the most influential paper during the anti-slavery era which gave a voice to an oppressed people. Douglass was able to turn his once feelings of torment and despair of learning to read into an influential weapon against slavery and thereby giving people hope and pursuing to finding “the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass,
Frederick Douglass was a great writer, but he wasn’t always. He was an escaped slave who used that in his speeches as a topic to gain the attention of his audience. His audience was a seemingly sympathetic one and got to them through rhetorical questions. Douglass wanted to convey the message that there are many changes that need to be made.
Both King and Douglass were advocating for the same thing: their constitutional sanction of freedom. Both men, in their respective letters touch upon parallel thoughts and beliefs that revolve around the much bigger topic of racial inequality and discrimination. Both men were discriminated against and they talk about their experiences and plight in their very distinctive yet special styles. Born in the year 1817, in an era of open and unashamed slave trade, Frederick Douglass’s story begins as a serf to Mrs. Hugh in the city of Maryland.
The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through
In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass narrates in detail the oppressions he went through as a slave before winning his freedom. In the narrative, Douglass gives a picture about the humiliation, brutality, and pain that slaves go through. We can evidently see that Douglass does not want to describe only his life, but he uses his personal experiences and life story as a tool to rise against slavery. He uses his personal life story to argue against common myths that were used to justify the act of slavery. Douglass invalidated common justification for slavery like religion, economic argument and color with his life story through his experiences torture, separation, and illiteracy, and he urged for the end of slavery.
Frederick Douglass was able to stand up for what he believed in because he did not focus on the negatives of slavery. He was not a so called “normal” slave because he focused on education, versus working, which is what most slaves were forced to focus on. Douglass even took his slave life to another level when he attacked his master, Mr. Covey , an act of defiance and standing up for himself. Douglass notes that “it was a glorious resurrection” that was from “the tomb of slavery” , and after hitting Mr. Covey he felt as if he were in “the heaven of freedom” (Douglass). Douglass beats up his master, a clear sign of rebelliousness as well as courageousness.
Annotated bibliography Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.
“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is a personal narrative which describes a specific time in his childhood when he was learning to read and write. Born as a slave in the pre-Civil War south, Douglass was not expected to be literate. However, through strong ambition, Douglass overcame restrictions and stereotypes placed on slaves and taught himself to read and write. Later in his life, Frederick Douglass wrote down this story in his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. Today, students and adults can enjoy this narrative on how he overcame the struggles of learning how to read and write.