Essay On Frederick Douglass Abolitionism

Slavery was a very cruel injustice from 1776 until 1865 when some courageous men and women decided to help end it. African Americans were discriminated against and treated differently just because of their appearance. “President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." (Archives.gov). That’s when the abolitionist movement was adapted. Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery and its practice of it. There were a lot of abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, one of the biggest parts of the Underground

Douglass did not know much about his mother, but what he remembered of her remained with him forever. Douglass never knew the identity of his father, though he always knew that his father was white, possibly his first master, Anthony. He faced a lot of hardships along the way to freedom which include having to manipulate, be sneaky, and be secretive. He used people for his benefit because of how he was treated. Frederick Douglass then taught other slaves to read and write. (Mentalfloss.com). He once said in one of his autobiographies “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity.” What he means is that he couldn’t stand having to look at his fellow slaves and watch them suffer instead of gaining knowledge like he was able to escape Slavery. Douglass also said, “I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing.” He thought that knowledge wasn’t everything there was to the world and life, he wanted to know but not so much that one day it would become a curse rather than a blessing. One of his biggest accomplishments in his whole career was he helped at least 400 runaway slaves with the help of his wife, (Homework.study.com). Finally, He escaped slavery at age 20 and went on to become one of the most important political activists fighting for emancipation and the equality of all people,

It gave them the courage that they needed to keep fighting for their freedom and no discrimination, (Cram.com). Not only did he help African Americans to learn but he also embraced the women's rights movement. He believed that defenseless and helpless groups should support each other. Douglass played a critical role in the 1848 Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention, (Sec.state.ma.us). Douglass also traveled the country a lot to promote abolition and the agenda of the organization; American Anti-Slavery Society, which tells us he spent a lot of time just to make sure every single person is treated fairly, equally, and so there would be no discrimination against anyone, (Britannica.com). After his sons joined the infantry, he noticed the unfair treatment black troops received. During the war, he also “advocated with Lincoln himself about rights for black Americans. For example, when black troops protested they were not receiving pay and equal treatment to that of white troops, Douglass met with President Abraham Lincoln to advocate on their behalf,”