How Is Frederick Douglass Successful
An American Slave: Frederick Douglass
He was one of the most influential African-American leaders of the abolitionist movement during the 19th century, and well known for being an incisive antislavery writer and speaker. He fought hard for civil rights for blacks, and was even the first African-American to hold a high U.S. government rank. This man, as you and many others know, is Frederick Douglass. These are Douglass’ most highly noted achievements, but who was this he before he became such a revered and respected individual? He was a slave. A slave who, quite literally, escaped to freedom to eventually fight for those who were still oppressed, bound in chains and shackles. His memoirs, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American …show more content…
There was very little shielding in the torture that slave received if they displeased their owner in any way. Multiple times in the Narrative, Douglass speaks of fears of pain and punishment if one were to try to escape, or simply to displease their owners. Early on in the Narrative, Douglass described a scene in which his aunt, Helen, was beaten. As he saw her horrified, for the first time, he mentioned “…bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation.” (Douglass, 21) Equally, to prove that Aunt Hester was not the sole woman to bear this kind of punishment, “I have known him [Mr. Plummer] to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly…]’ (Douglass, 20). This statement underlines the fact that the slashing and beating of women he had been an eyewitness of with Aunt Hester was a common …show more content…
Although, as previously mentioned, Douglass, and other slaves, had very little knowledge of their basic information such as age and parents, he had been told his father was white (Douglass, 17). The occurrence of white men, masters, breeding with their female slaves was increasingly common as he noticed that lighter colored slaves, that were neither black nor white, but in between kept being born. He noted that this new ‘type’ of person was becoming more and more common “…it is nevertheless plain that a very different-looking class are springing up in the south, and are now held in slavery…” (Douglass, 19) In this way, Douglass was somewhat part of this new different looking class, as he had a mother of color and an unknown white father who had probably been her
He was one of the most influential African-American leaders of the abolitionist movement during the 19th century, and well known for being an incisive antislavery writer and speaker. He fought hard for civil rights for blacks, and was even the first African-American to hold a high U.S. government rank. This man, as you and many others know, is Frederick Douglass. These are Douglass’ most highly noted achievements, but who was this he before he became such a revered and respected individual? He was a slave. A slave who, quite literally, escaped to freedom to eventually fight for those who were still oppressed, bound in chains and shackles. His memoirs, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American …show more content…
There was very little shielding in the torture that slave received if they displeased their owner in any way. Multiple times in the Narrative, Douglass speaks of fears of pain and punishment if one were to try to escape, or simply to displease their owners. Early on in the Narrative, Douglass described a scene in which his aunt, Helen, was beaten. As he saw her horrified, for the first time, he mentioned “…bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation.” (Douglass, 21) Equally, to prove that Aunt Hester was not the sole woman to bear this kind of punishment, “I have known him [Mr. Plummer] to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly…]’ (Douglass, 20). This statement underlines the fact that the slashing and beating of women he had been an eyewitness of with Aunt Hester was a common …show more content…
Although, as previously mentioned, Douglass, and other slaves, had very little knowledge of their basic information such as age and parents, he had been told his father was white (Douglass, 17). The occurrence of white men, masters, breeding with their female slaves was increasingly common as he noticed that lighter colored slaves, that were neither black nor white, but in between kept being born. He noted that this new ‘type’ of person was becoming more and more common “…it is nevertheless plain that a very different-looking class are springing up in the south, and are now held in slavery…” (Douglass, 19) In this way, Douglass was somewhat part of this new different looking class, as he had a mother of color and an unknown white father who had probably been her