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Examples Of Transcendentalism In Frederick Douglass

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Transcendentalist were known to be passionate in the social reform movement, human rights, education, abolishment and women's right. They had a view that all human being were deserving of the ability to be fully human. Surprisingly, Fredrick Douglass is a name that also sees the world in a very similar way as a Transcendentalist. Douglass' views on human nature and the future of the United States are parallel with the views of the Transcendental movement. One of the themes in Douglass' writing was the relationship between human nature and the power it had. Douglass, started off his life as a slave and then progressed to an educated and respected writer and speaker and . Douglass examined the importance of individual rights and the right for …show more content…

Douglass constantly spoke of the injustices of America and tried continuously to integrate America. Coming from such adversity, Douglass projected the fighting attitude of a true American . As William Andrews says in his introduction to The Oxford Frederick Douglass Reader, "Frederick Douglass's basic idea of his own individuality, his own quintessential identity, lay not in his racial affiliations or his American allegiances but in his sense of himself as a person with a moral mission. . . [he] stood, not just for freedom, but for intellectual and moral integrity in the articulation and pursuit of freedom."(Andrews, 17) He is a perfect example of the American spirit, in that he was mistreated and overcame that tragedy with the power of fighting for the rights of others. Douglass did like to say, "first things are always interesting" a perfect statement for a new nation devoted to justice and equality. His views of the future of America were right with the transcendentalists, his first and most powerful stance was against slavery. He argued that slavery was unnatural, ungodly, immoral and unjust. Douglass pointed out that per the declaration of independence, blacks were humans and were entitled to the natural rights that were mandated. Not only did Douglass write and speak about the racial injustices of blacks, he also spoke about the women's rights that were just as important. In the words of Ralph Waldo

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Frederick Douglass the man, the steamroller, the one who paved the way for African Americans. Douglas was an escaped slave. He paved the way for many people. The African American society would not be where we are today without the works and the upstanding against the civil rights. Self-teaching and strong will, and his faith in religion allowed Frederick Douglas the strength and will power to never give up.

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Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Douglass wrote the novel “The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass” which depicted his life as a slave and enticed his ambition to become a free man. This novel helped form the big abolitionist movement. In the chapters of this novel, it explains important details like how he first learned to read and write, stays at different plantations, later in life events, leading up to his freedom.

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Fredrick Douglass was born enslaved,but he escaped to freedom. He became an outspoken opponent of slavery and a civil rights advocate. He lectured widely and even published his own newspapers. In this excerpt, I have learned the most important event that occurred in his life and why its important, the reason why he compared the enslavers to criminals, and the reason why he wished to be an animal. First of all, Fredrick mentioned in the excerpt the most important event in his life and why it matters.

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1080 Words | 5 Pages

In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass narrates in detail the oppressions he went through as a slave before winning his freedom. In the narrative, Douglass gives a picture about the humiliation, brutality, and pain that slaves go through. We can evidently see that Douglass does not want to describe only his life, but he uses his personal experiences and life story as a tool to rise against slavery. He uses his personal life story to argue against common myths that were used to justify the act of slavery. Douglass invalidated common justification for slavery like religion, economic argument and color with his life story through his experiences torture, separation, and illiteracy, and he urged for the end of slavery.

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1657 Words | 7 Pages

He also struggled for stopping the racial violation and helped the fleeing slaves to escape. One of the main point of Douglass’s speech was slavery should be stopped. And he also argued that what’s the point of celebrating Fourth July if the term liberty doesn’t apply equally for all? He also exhibited that a slave is also a human being like others. If white people have the right to utilize all the rights and facilities as a citizen, on the whole as a human, why will the black people lead a life as sub human?

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751 Words | 4 Pages

In the journal by Bernard R. Boxill, "Frederick Douglass's Patriotism," Boxill guides readers through the transformation of Frederick Douglass from a man possessing no patriotism or country, to a man staking his position as a patriot within a country. Throughout the text, he presents the internal and external conflicts Frederick Douglass faces, "from claiming that he had no country... and gone on to claim that he had a country... claiming that he was not a patriot... to claim that he was a patriot... claiming that he did not love the U.S. he had gone on to claim that he did love the U.S.. "(Boxill 303). Boxill ponders "what had provoked these metamorphoses," (Boxill, 303) and depicts the dramatic change in Frederick Douglass' worldview.

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Douglass has gone through the process of escaping slavery and has been a victim to the loneliness it produces; his life has been a continuous battle and he challenges the people to do something about

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498 Words | 2 Pages

At last, Douglass brings the point of freedom and justice the one person has every right to him than any other, and no man has the authority to rule over

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His adherent belief in humanism and the innate and annullable rights bestowed to humanity simply by the virtue of their existence represented the core of enlightenment. According to Puchner et al. (216), Douglass’ importance as a contributor to Enlightenment in Afro-American history derives in part from his insights into and embodiment of both the intrinsic interrelationship between the Afro-American and Euro-American minds. Equally important in Douglass’ thought was the pervasive impact that race has on American life and culture. Like many philosophers of the Enlightenment movement, the central push of Douglass’ thoughts were the need to resolve the tension between himself as a human being and his identities as a

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891 Words | 4 Pages

In 1841, Douglass was invited and spoke some words by Mr. William at the convention which was organized by Garrison. He got a success in introducing abolitionist to all the world. This led to a new turning point in the hope that slaves would be freed and, the slavery would end soon. After that, he focused more on his education and get more chances later. Thus, Douglass can show the readers that he was a smart person, from a slave to be a free man, from zero to hero.

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392 Words | 2 Pages

The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through

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976 Words | 4 Pages

James Oakes’ political analysis of the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass is an intricate one. He pursues the duos; a frontier lawyer and a former slave, the president and the most sought after black, the shrewd politician and an agile reformer who are carefully engaged in the context of political succession, emancipation and civil war in the 19th century. Being a prime time when slavery is a fiercely contested issue, the two closely associate in the bold spectrum, differing and agreeing, disregarding and approving each other in different instances, with Oakes ultimately drawing their paths through the epic transformation. This paper seeks out Douglass’ and Lincoln’s approaches that shift some positions in slavery abolition in 19th century America.

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The American person has no true ideals, or beliefs that make him or her up. Americans are free to believe in what they want, think what they want, preach what they want, and most importantly say what they want . Authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman show in their texts such as “Self-Reliance” , The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass , and “I Celebrate Myself” that there is no true definition of the American identity. The American identity can be seen in the many aspects of peoples lives, and a a quality that many Americans portray is the ability to have individual thoughts and emotions as well as the capability to not conform to society because they stand up for their own individual rights. A

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He became known as an inspirational person. Not many people are willing to go against what others believe, but Douglass was. His slave owner thought that it was “unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 29), but that did not stop him from pursuing further knowledge. Education has a powerful effect that makes others fear that one has superiority over them one way or another. Slaves had their basic human rights taken away from them because slave owners wanted them to lack the ability to form an opinion on what was happening to them.

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257 Words | 2 Pages

Frederick Douglass was a great writer, but he wasn’t always. He was an escaped slave who used that in his speeches as a topic to gain the attention of his audience. His audience was a seemingly sympathetic one and got to them through rhetorical questions. Douglass wanted to convey the message that there are many changes that need to be made.

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