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All Men Are Created Equal Frederick Douglass Quote Analysis

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In 1776, a life-changing document for the U.S.A. was signed by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. This document was given the name “The Declaration of Independence” because it officially made the U.S.A. free from the British. When this document was signed, there was an iconic quote that caught the attention of many Americans at the time. The following quote states that “All Men are Created Equal.” But this phrase caught everyone's attention for all the wrong reasons. This quote allegedly meant that all races would be treated equally with the same respect and freedom, but sadly the truth was that this promise didn’t apply to all races. In Frederick Douglass’s narrative, "The Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave," Frederick Douglass makes …show more content…

Frederick Douglass talks about how “I had no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it (chapter 1 paragraph 1).” This quote talks about how slaves were denied simple access to knowing their age because of a potential fear that it would help them escape from slavery. This quote and explanation supports my claim because it shows the type of conditions slaves were living in and the learning obstacles they had to face while living in these violent and harsh conditions. In paragraph 3 of chapter 1, Frederick Douglass states another one of the problems slaves had to go through which was “my mother and I were separated when I was but an infant way before I even knew her as my mother (chapter 1 paragraph 3).” This quote demonstrates how slaves were forced to be …show more content…

From what Frederick Douglass said Mr.Gore, a white overseer “raised his musket taking aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby (a slave) was no more (chapter 4 paragraph 4).” This quote talks about how Mr.Gore would kill Demby without any reason and face no punishment. This quote and explanation rounds up my claim because it shows the violence that would take place on the plantation that was caused by the overseers. After Demby’s killing, Douglass then states the second violent situation that was caused by overseers, which was “Mr.Thomas Lanman killed two slaves whom we killed with a hatchet by knocking his brains out (chapter 4 paragraph 6).” This quote again shows the violence that overseers would cause to black slaves. This quote and explanation sums up my claim because it shows the way the overseers would abuse their power by inflicting violence and pain upon black slaves. One more paragraph later Frederick Douglass us the third violent situation that would take place which was “The wife of Mr.Giles Hicks murdered my cousin's wife, a young girl between 15 and 16 years of age by breaking her nose and breast bone (chapter 4 paragraph 7).” This quote officially proves how slaves were being killed left and right without the overseers getting in trouble or even being questioned or pursued by police. This quote

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Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founding fathers and key contributing author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, is responsibility for pinning the documents powerful and well known line, “all Men are created equal”. The concept that “all Men are created equal” is the foundation of America’s phiolosy. “Yet, it was written at a time when some inhabitants were held in bondage and other were being disposed of their lands” (Video).

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INTRO This reflects onto the justice system millions of slaves had to suffer through everyday MICRO Frederick’s current slaveholder, Mr. Austin Gore never held back from exercising his capability of control. Mr. Gore was willing to punish slaves for something they did not commit. He favoured a dozen slaves enduring severe physical pain more than an overseer being punished for convicting a felony. MACRO This theme of control is represented well by Douglass’s overseer, Mr. Gore.

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All Men Were Created Equal Dbq Analysis

1542 Words | 7 Pages

Abigail Adams letter to John Adams asking him to remember the ladies when the new country is made (Source B), and his crude letter back explaining her ridiculousness (Source E). A letter most likely written by a free slave so desperate for the freedom of the African children that he learned to write and sends a petition to the congress (Source C). And finally, in the recreation of the the mid 1770’s events, the miniseries John Adams (Source D). Therefore, The statement, “All men were created equal” is a hypocritical statement because the African people and women were treated as property to be owned instead of as equal people as the statement

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Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.

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How Does Douglass Show The American Idea That All Men Are Created Equal

456 Words | 2 Pages

Do you think throughout history that all men are created equal? If you did, then The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass says differently. In Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass wants to change what his readers believe about what it means to be dedicated to the American idea that “All men are created equal.” He wants people to see the idea that "All men are created equal," by stating, "I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it." Douglass also says, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.

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Frederick Douglass Use Overtly Angry Language Analysis

248 Words | 1 Pages

I like your observation that Douglass doesn’t use overtly angry language in his book. I also wonder if it would have been possible for him to get his book published at all if he had been openly angry. Also if he had gone into more details about feeling hatred or anger then the book would have shifted from being a critique of slavery to simply being an account of his sufferings. The quote you chose is a clear display of anger from Douglass, but I feel he is angrier about the institution of slavery then at the slave holders themselves. There are many times in the book when he implies that he believes slavery is a horrible institution.

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However, Douglass, who knows the true culprit, refutes this idea saying instead that slaves would join together in song to tell of their hatred and sorrow. Another way that Douglass rebukes this friendly image is with the gory horrific reality. For instance, when a savage overseer kills a slave named Demby, Douglass recalls “his mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood”(22). Douglass isn’t painting this life in a positive way because he wants others to grasp the alarming reality that was life as a slave. Although those involved in the enslavement of African Americans might’ve liked to believe it, there was nothing reasonable or justifiable about

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Douglass points to the vast unwillingness from the group of whites that refuses to fully perceive and accept African-Americans as deserving and equal citizens of the nation. Based on his personal experiences as a slave, Douglass is abundantly aware that the battle to abolish slavery is not an easy task. For the first twenty years of his life, he witnessed firsthand the abject cruelty of that institution in our country. Tactfully, Douglass seizes this opportunity to publicly highlight the unmerited and coarse differences in the treatment between the whites as opposed to the blacks living in the United States during this time period. He makes a “powerful testaments to the hypocrisy, bigotry and inhumanity of slavery” (Bunch 1).

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Douglass stated, “What am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow-men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters?” He successfully expresses his pain and anger in this quote by providing images of his and his people’s suffering. He tapped into the emotions of his audience, such as mothers, workers, and those who have felt physically pain by exposing them to the amplified struggles he and others had to face. Nonetheless, he continually reminded the audience, both explicitly and subliminally, that his group of people are too human, and that the only difference they share is the color of their skin. He is pleading his cases and hoping that it gets across to his audience in hope they will do the right

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Frederick Douglass Use And Abuse Of Power Essay

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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1838 Words | 8 Pages

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