What Are The Pros And Cons Of Frederick Douglass

Fredrick Douglass establishes his credibility early on in this except. He portrays himself as an individual that is both dedicated to his pursuit of knowledge and a reliable source as a witness. He shows his consistency of nature and the way he continually pursued an education while facing extreme odds. He is fair in the way he judges the slaveholders, expressing both their negative sides and showing that he can see the positives as well.

Frederick Douglass was a slave who escaped to freedom 1838, but many other slaves weren’t as lucky as he was. Many slaves used the same method Douglass used, forging passes, and they made their way to free states with any personal items they had, like clothing and jewelry. People would then remain free by avoiding authorities at all costs, and using aliases and fake names to avoid identification to be sold back into slavery again. There were various strategies of escaping that people used, such as forging passes and acting as ‘sailors’ as Frederick Douglass did. Others used more primitive methods, such as simply running from the authorities.

Imagine being a slave, doesn’t sound very fun does it? The abolitionists hated slavery. Some abolitionists include, Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Abe Lincoln, and many more. They all had the 21 Indispensable qualities of a leader, they were all leaders. Whether it was Harriet Tubman saving slaves through the Underground Railroad.

Frederick Douglass     He was born into slavery and worked on a slave farm in Maryland and in Baltimore when he was very young. Although Douglass got a bit more freedom than any other slave did down south. Slave were allowed or granted with nothing at all because they were slaves and people believe that they deserve nothing but to work more very little or not at all. During his free time Douglass his slave owner's wife had taught him how to read and write but her husband ended that quickly. Shortly after that he found ways to teach him.

Fredrick Douglass learned that enslavers hated enslaved people knowing to read and write as they feared what the enslaved people could do this that information. Douglass heard Mr. Auld ban Mrs. Auld from teaching Douglass how to read because, as he states, “Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now,” said he, “if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (Douglass Fredrick 38). Fredrick Douglass realized freedom was possible through learning, which inspired him to escape and learn more.

Frederick Douglass was brave and tenacious abolitionist. He put himself at risk by continuing his attempt to abolish slavery while there were numerous consequences and dangers with the task. For example, if he were caught by his old slave holder, he would have been tortured or executed. He did not let others keep him down and persistently strived for freedom of slaves. Also, as Deborah stated, he was taught to read and write by some youngsters.

In the 1800s, for a slave to know how to read and write was not only unheard of, but illegal. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in rural Talbot County, Maryland. For about seven years, he received reading lessons from his mistress Hugh, but that all changed as soon as she commenced her duties as a slaveholder. The once kind hearted woman was changed into a woman to be feared. She stopped teaching Douglass how to read and would monitor his whereabouts in her home to ensure that he was not reading anything.

Frederick Douglass in his narrative “Why I learned to Read and Write” demonstrates how he surpassed many obstacles along the way towards getting an education. These obstacles not only shaped Frederick’s outlook on life but also influenced him in his learning to read and write. Frederick’s main challenge was that of not being an owner of his person but rather a slave and a property to someone else. Frederick Douglass lived in the time when slavery was still taking place and slaveholders viewed slavery and education as incompatible. The slave system didn’t allow mental or physical freedom for slaves; slaveholders were to keep the apt appearance and slaves were to remain ignorant.

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.

Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day. Charles Finney was a religious leader who promoted social reforms such as the abolition of slavery. He also fought for equality in education for women as well as for African Americans.

Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the  kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.

Fredrick Douglass was born enslaved,but he escaped to freedom. He became an outspoken opponent of slavery and a civil rights advocate. He lectured widely and even published his own newspapers. In this excerpt, I have learned the most important event that occurred in his life and why its important, the reason why he compared the enslavers to criminals, and the reason why he wished to be an animal. First of all, Fredrick mentioned in the excerpt the most important event in his life and why it matters.

Although Frederick Douglass was not expected to be literate, he taught himself how because he believed that education should be for everyone, not just a few privileged children. Frederick Douglass was a slave for life in the southern United States before the Civil War. He had no regular teacher because, at that time, most slave owners did not believe that their slaves should be taught to read and write. White slave owners thought that if slaves knew how to read, they would go against their owners and fight against slavery.

He became known as an inspirational person. Not many people are willing to go against what others believe, but Douglass was. His slave owner thought that it was “unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 29), but that did not stop him from pursuing further knowledge. Education has a powerful effect that makes others fear that one has superiority over them one way or another. Slaves had their basic human rights taken away from them because slave owners wanted them to lack the ability to form an opinion on what was happening to them.