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Essay on biography of frederick douglass
Essay on biography of frederick douglass
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Frederick Douglass
Carolina Villa
Professor Winter
2322
North Lake College
In a world where discrimination has always been a part of society, there have always been people like Frederick Douglass that take society one step closer to being the best that it can be. He escaped slavery and went on to stand up for his brothers and sisters who were in dire need of a voice. With help from some important people along the way and with his skill of reading, he surpassed all challenges he was faced with on his way to becoming an abolitionist, human rights and women's rights activist, orator, author, journalist, publisher, and social reformer.
Frederick Douglass, who advocated for men and women of color and who is now known as the father of the civil rights movement, was born into slavery in Talbot, Maryland in 1818 as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. On January 1, 1836, Douglass made a resolution that he would be free by the end of the year. He planned an escape, but early in April he was jailed after his plan was discovered. Two years later, while living in Baltimore and working at a shipyard, Douglass would finally realize his dream: he fled the city on September 3, 1838. Travelling by train, then steamboat, then train, he arrived in New York City the following day. Several weeks later he had settled
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in New Bedford, Massachusetts, living with his newlywed bride (whom he met in Baltimore and married in New York) under his new name, Frederick Douglass. He joined various organizations in New Bedford, including a black church, he attended Abolitionists' meetings, and he subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, the Liberator and he once even attended one of his speeches.
Garrison recognized his oratory skill and hired him as a speaker for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Since he was a young boy, he knew that his ability to read would always play a key role in his success. He wrote an autobiography titled “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself”, and despite many people telling him the narrative might jeopardize his freedom, he published it in
1845. Douglass worked with many other notable abolitionists of the nineteenth century including Wendell Phillips and Abby Kelley. Douglass also had a close relationship with John Brown and his family but disagreed with Brown's violent tactics, dramatically displayed in Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859. With the abolishment of slavery at the close of the Civil War, Douglass then turned his attention to the full involvement of the African-American into political and economic life of the United States. Douglass established his own weekly abolitionist newspaper, the North Star, that became a major voice of African-American opinion. Later, through his periodical titled the Douglass Monthly, he recruited black Union soldiers for the African-American Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. His sons Lewis and Charles both served in this regiment and saw combat. Douglass worked to retain the hard-won advances of African-Americans. However, the progress made during Reconstruction soon eroded as the twentieth century approached. Douglass spent his last years opposing lynching and supporting the rights of women. The anti-slavery crusade of the early nineteenth century served as a training ground for the women's suffrage movement. Douglass actively supported the women's rights movement, yet he believed black men should receive suffrage first. Demonstrating his support for women's rights, Douglass participated in the first feminist convention at Seneca Falls in July of 1848 where he was largely responsible for passage of the motion to support female suffrage. Together with abolitionist and feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Douglass signed the Declaration of Sentiments that became the movement’s manifesto. His masthead of his newspaper, the North Star, once read “Right is of no Sex - Truth is of no Color.” A women’s rights activist to the end Douglass died in February 1895, just after going to a Woman’s Council meeting. Bibliography PBS.“Frederick Douglass.” PBS,Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html. Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2016). Who was Frederick Douglass? Digital History. 15 Mar. 2018, 6yhttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/douglass_exhibit/douglass.html “Frederick Douglass.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 13 Feb. 2018, www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324. Douglass, Frederick. Flaming Abolition Speech. 1847. TS, Brooklyn. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/frederick-douglass-abraham-lincoln_04_23d4894972a7638b8a618862cb34aa06.pdf Douglass, Frederick. new york. TS, Rochester. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/frederick-douglass-abraham-lincoln_05_815b52395f207c348c8739c5dc3b982c.pdf Douglass, Frederick. Chapter XXIII, My Bondage and My Freedom. 1855. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/frederick-douglass-abraham-lincoln_06_adb7cd09b3e98cba761493188c9e2c74.pdf Douglass, Frederick. The Reminiscences of Frederick Douglass. 1888. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/frederick-douglass-abraham-lincoln_10_a0019ca333238274892f912728ba710d.pdf Douglass, Frederick. Freedmen’s Monument unveiling speech. 1876. Lincoln Park, Washington DC. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/frederick-douglass-abraham-lincoln_13_8bc54d540ed276aadd08279bf58136d8.pdf
Douglass made poignant points about manhood, Christianity and literacy that helped the freedom bells ring for all mankind. He did so in a peaceful and Christian manner that was exemplary and repeated in later years by civil rights activist Martin Luther King. Douglass opened the eyes for many both black and white to the shadows and indignities that slavery cast on all that were involved with it. Through his hard work, dedication and sacrifice he helped bring an end to the demon of slavery.
Different types of literature have been part of America since the 1630’s and the varieties of literature still exist to this day. Frederick Douglass’s work and speeches during his lifetime caught the attention of many people in the United States, including slave owners themselves. Douglass has not only changed American literature, he has also inspired many other writers and speakers to seek freedom of expression for themselves. Even though he had a rough childhood because he was a slave, Douglass found ways to make the most of it. Fortunately it was because he had a nice and caring owner who taught him to read and write. Furthermore, because he had a warmhearted owner, he was able to express himself through his work to many different people of his time. Douglass’s works and speeches remain of great impact, and continue to influence and inspire many people in literature to this day. He influenced many people during his travels to Northern free states and overseas to England and Ireland where he explained and changed their mindset of the cruelty of slavery, which ultimately lead to the adjustment by the people to understand the reality of slavery.
From before the country’s conception to the war that divided it and the fallout that abolished it, slavery has been heavily engrained in the American society. From poor white yeoman farmers, to Northern abolitionist, to Southern gentry, and apathetic northerners slavery transformed the way people viewed both their life and liberty. To truly understand the impact that slavery has had on American society one has to look no further than those who have experienced them firsthand. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and advocate for the abolitionist, is on such person. Douglass was a living contradiction to American society during his time. He was an African-American man, self-taught, knowledgeable, well-spoken, and a robust writer. Douglass displayed a level of skill that few of his people at the time could acquire. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass captivated the people of his time with his firsthand accounts into the horror and brutality that is the institution of slavery.
Born into slavery and fathered by an unknown white man, “Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey” was born in Maryland around 1818. He was raised by his grandparents and with an Aunt, having seen his mother only a handful of times before she died. It was during this time that he witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the institution of slavery: lashings, exposure to the elements and hunger. When he was eight years old he left for Baltimore, and it was there that his master’s sympathetic wife taught him to read and write. When he recounted the move later in his life he said, “Going to live at Baltimore, laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity.” Typically slaveholders would prevent slaves from becoming literate. And Douglass’ master would often punish his wife for teaching the slaves the alphabet because he would make them disobedient. Slavery means you are to remain ignorant but freedom means that you were enlightened. He would struggle, but he knew that knowledge was more than power, it was freedom. After he escaped slavery September 3, 1838 and fled to New York, he joined various abolitionist groups and in 1841 he met the white abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison, who went on to become his mentor. Despite many apprehensions that releasing his story would endanger his life as a free man, Douglass published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself in 1845. After becoming more independent from Garrison, he spoke against his belief that the Constitution was pro-slavery, and argued that it may “be wielded in behalf of emancipation,” where the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction. Douglass d...
Frederick Douglass was one of the most influential men of the anti-slavery movement. He stood up for what he believed in, fought hard to get where he got and never let someone tell him he could not do something. Frederick Douglass made a change in this country that will always be remembered.
History has revealed that it is through the struggles and difficulties, that the good men and women come to light for doing what is right. These revolutionary men and women risk their lives going against what is morally wrong and fight for what they believe is right. One of these revolutionaries was Frederick Douglass. He was revered for escaping for doing what many slaves never thought would be possible. Through the different stages in his life as a slave, a free man, and an abolitionist, he proved himself worthy of admiration and respect.
Frederick Douglass was an enslaved person and was born in Talbot County, Maryland. He had no knowledge of his accurate age like most of the enslaved people. He believed that his father was a white man, and he grew up with his grandmother. Douglass and his mother were separated when he was young, which was also common in the lives of the enslaved people. This concept of separation was used as a weapon to gain control of the enslaved people. In short, despite the obstacles he had to endure, he was able to gain an education and fight for his freedom in any means necessary.
Frederick Douglass has an autobiography called “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” basically telling his life story. He starts off telling about how he grew up from a baby and tells about his family, the little that he knew. Douglass was born into slavery and separated from his mother before he was twelve months, to prevent a strong bond between them two. He did not know what his exact age was and he did not know who his father was, there were rumors that his master was his father. He soon evaded slavery and went to New York where he got married to another freed slave. In the 1840’s he got the Anti-Slavery movement some fuel when he told about his days as a slave and his experiences. After that he was appointed to be the speaker of the movement by Lloyd Garrison. His novel almost got him into some trouble because he was not legally freed so his master could still go find him and take him back. This caused him to have to get out of the United States for a little while. He did not like the idea of the underground railroad saying “I have never approved of the very public manner of the underground railroad” (Douglass 990). He thinks t...
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (or better known as Frederick Douglass) was born in 1818 to a black mother and a white father. Despite this unfavorable beginning, he was – and still is, to this day – universally recognized as a symbol for freedom. He dedicated his entire life towards earning rights like freedom and the right to vote for African American people.
Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1818, he was the son of a slave woman and, her white master. Upon his escape from slavery at age 20, he adopted the name of the hero of Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. Douglass immortalized his years as a slave in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845). This and two other autobiographies, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), mark his greatest contributions to American culture. Written as antislavery propaganda and personal revelation, they are regarded as the finest examples of the slave narrative tradition and as classics of American autobiography.
In his narrative, Douglass layers the many brutal, cruel, inhumane, and true components of slavery in his life, underlying each story with a political motive and relation. This method of writing was for his audience removed from slavery, those ignorant of slavery, uninformed, misunderstood, and those who were fortunate to have freedom. Douglass illustrates living conditions, experiences, tragedies, and struggles to great depths. Everywhere, African Americans escaped the binds of slavery due to Frederick Douglass' determination. He revolutionized America, being one of the greatest leaders of the abolition, being the reason for so many freed lives, and leading to the complete abolition and illegality of slavery in America.
Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery around 1818, will forever remain one of the most important figures in America's struggle for civil rights and racial equality. As an ex-slave, his inspiration grew beyond his boarders to reach the whole world. Without any formal education, Douglass escaped slavery and became a respected American diplomat, a counselor to four presidents, a highly regarded speaker, and an influential writer. By common consent Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845) is recognized as the best among the many slave narratives that appeared before the Civil War. He amazed people when he spoke bravely in his Fourth of July speech. He spoke out against oppression throughout America and abroad, and his struggle for freedom, self-discovery, and identity stands as a testament for all time, for all people. Although some people accused him of lying, exaggerating, and using his narrative and his well-known Fourth of July speech as part of an abolitionist plot, Douglass was able to clearly demonstrate his talents, sensitivity, and intellectual capacity by revealing the truth about the lives, culture, and psychological struggles of American slaves.
Frederick Douglass was an incredibly influential part of the abolitionist movement. He has seen the harshest acts induced by slavery, even in the kindest of people. Douglass worked his entire life to get away from slavery and secure his freedom. With this new found freedom, he chose to speak out against the institution of slavery and inform the public of the evil truths that lay within slavery. He used wit, humor, pathos, ridicule, satire, mimicry, intellectual and emotional appeal to reach out to his audience in hopes of enlightening them (Douglass, July 146). On July 5th, 1852, he gave a speech to whites in New York about the injustices of slavery and how inhumane it was. He did this to open the eyes of Americans who had not been fully exposed
In the end, Frederick Douglass was a very successful and smart African American. Infact of him being a slave back then. Most slaves couldn’t receive education due to slavery and racism.
Fred Douglass was a slave who escaped at the age of twenty. After his escape he named himself Sir Walter Scott after The Lady of The Lake. He wrote autobiographies that made great contributions to American culture. Later told speeches against slavery and racism which brought hope to many people. During his life he tried to fight the Jim Crow law and lynching in the 1890s. Then in the 1850s he help support the women’s rights movement and gave assistance to John Brown’s conspiracy.