Knowledge Equals Freedom: The Fredrick Douglass Story

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Recommended: Ignorance as a tool of slavery and education as a path to freedom in fredrick douglass a narrative of the life of fredrick douglass an american slave

Fredrick Douglass was an American slave in the 1800’s, who the led to the path that knowledge is power and as an individual, a person can achieve anything they want if they put their mind to it. As a result, Douglass proved that knowledge at that time would eventually equal freedom, not only did he use that to his advantage but also started up Sunday school to teach his fellow slaves to spread the word that knowledge equals freedom. The major historical theme that was shown in this book and implemented throughout was freedom. It showed that anyone can obtain the freedom they want when they think for themselves and reach out to further their education. This belief was one of the key reasons the founding fathers of the United States based their …show more content…

Douglass knew that ignorance or lack of knowledge was the real slave and knowledge was the path to freedom, to a new life. Douglass believed that all people are created equal, but we weren’t just born free, we have to make ourselves into who we are and what we want to be. The worst thing about slavery is it prevents people from improving themselves through education. Douglass worked by making himself free not physically but also mentally free by expanding his horizons through various different forms of education. By furthering his education and improving himself to be the best person he could be, Douglass was free in a way, free to the fact that he wasn’t going to be the person the slaveholders wanted him to be, he was determined and willing to find his own freedom by any means. This autobiography proves that knowledge or education is the ultimate path to freedom, either mentally or physically. A person can push themselves to the limit of starvation, loneliness, and physical pain by winning their mental freedom, knowing that with a little bit of determination and education it can truly transform a person’s life and Douglass not only shows this throughout his autobiography but lived through it and proved

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