Frederick Douglass Individualism

Government is very dependent on modern times, not because of the economic or political views of the time, but because of moral normalities. Every time period brings another change in society that soon becomes a social normality in fifty years. One of the most revolutionary shifts in government that is still relevant in today's society is the Civil War and the Civil Rights Acts that were soon to follow. There were many political leaders of the time that lead to changes with the government in terms of laws and movements that allowed African Americans to live as equals in America, Martin Luther King Jr. being the most popular. One inspirational writer that rose in the beginning of the movements, that actually inspired and was inspired by the King,

was known as Frederick Douglass. He was born into slavery, but through his writings after illegally learning how to read and write died as a free man. There are many writers in government, out of the current selection one Douglass would agree with Lao-tzu while his slaveholders would’ve associated with Machiavelli; then there is the discussion upon Douglass’s political views.
Frederick Douglass would sooner associate himself with Lao-tzu due to their similar ideas about individual freedom in a government.

“Early in his career Frederick Douglass often maintained that he had and could have no patriotism. His argument for taking this stand was straightforward: To have patriotism is to love one’s country; consequently to have patriotism one must have a country; but he had no country; consequently he had and could have no patriotism.” according to Bernard R. Boxill in "Frederick Douglass's Patriotism." This lead him to having very individualistic liberal views on government and the entire political scene. This point is even further proven in Frederick Douglass’s novel Life of Frederick Douglass:An American Slave when he says that “I was about twelve years old, and the thought of being a slave for loge began to bear heavy upon my heart.” These types of leaders and political leaders are often found in very peaceful countries and can be seen in one large leader being Lao-tzu. Lao-tzu states in his work Tao-te Ching states “The Master does his job and then stops. He understands the universe is forever out of control.” Together both Frederick Douglass and Lao-tzu have similar view on politics in stating how the individual person should be free in any regular situation so that the state is stable and

prosperous.
Southern slaveholders would have a radically opposite view from Douglass and would sooner agree with men like Machiavelli who have a dominant and almost oppressive rule in their government.

Compared to Frederick Douglass the southern slaveholders he fought against believed in a tight rule with heavy restrictions for all of those who aren’t in charge. Machiavelli will build on this concept of restriction and cruelty that was taken up by the slaveowners of the south in his novel The Prince saying that “Therefore a prince must not worry about the reproach of cruelty when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal.” Seven Conn explains in detail how this idea was expressed in the south stating “Think of that iconic photograph of the integration of Little Rock Central High. The quiet dignity of that young black woman and the white teen shrieking in hatred just behind her. Or of that gruesome image of a Southern lynching where a young girl smiles up at the body hanging from a tree.” in his work "Frederick Douglass and Southern Politics." Many southerners were able to defend their territory against the injustice of their actions by saying that these slaves were a danger to the economy like IHT Corporation in "Political: The Views of Frederick Douglass a High Tarriff a Necessity." exclaiming that ”The slaves own no Government bonds: so they will never vote to tax themselves to pay interest or principal of the national

debt.”
Douglass had many interesting political views that help show the large parallels between him and his southern slaveholders in terms of a government. To be the face of the revolution when it came to freeing slaves and giving them equal rights upon the American society, Douglass had to have a strong political view, and his was incredibly liberal as well. Throughout his political struggle it is heavily recorded that “Douglass endorsed the core commitments of liberalism, and at the center of the liberal universe is the commitment to the individual.” told by Nicholas Buccola in “The Political Thought Of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit Of American Liberty”. In Douglass fight for freedom there was a large sense of balance in the fact that he was fighting against the racist population of the south, so he had to gain the help of the north, while not pushing the edge too far against the southerners. While try to achieve that balance, in Fredericks political battle he always stayed true to the thought that “He argued slavery was able to persist in the South because it begot "a character in the whole network of society surrounding it, favorable to its continuance." from Buccola Nicholas again, but this time in his study "Each for All and All for Each": The Liberal Statesmanship of Frederick Douglass." Frederick developed a political style that he used to help shape his future in the controversial concept of slavery in his time period.
To look at the contribution that Frederick Douglass gave to the government during his time period there isn’t much he didn’t affect in the continuing progress afterwards. He had an extreme liberal sense of politics and would do anything he could try to do to help the African American population pull out of slavery and his moral beliefs were similar to Lao-tzu from China in his time period as well. While his southern slave owners had a completely different opinion on their government and economy that was able to allow them to hold onto their slaves for so many years and they also had ideas that were stunningly parallel to what Machiavelli stated about political leaders in his day and age. Despite these differences between the two parties the wisdom and use of politics, Frederick Douglass was able to use his skills to improve the overall government for the better for the people of the country then, and his contributions have cascaded to still influence the government today. Frederick Douglass was able to use government in the way it is meant to be in improving people's quality of life.