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Frederick Douglass Historiography

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The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass was a powerful force for abolitionists, describing his own life as a former slave in great detail. Using his own words and experience, he created a powerful and persuasive argument against slavery, that helped gather support for the abolitionist movement. The sheer amount of detail in Douglass's experience makes you feel what he felt, and understand what he experienced. Additionally, Douglass proves that slavery changes all who are involved for the worse. At the start of the book, Douglass says, I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. 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 …show more content…

He grew up lacking information regarding his age, which bothered and upset him. He was also not allowed to ask his master about information about himself. This was an intentional move by his master to keep him from developing an identity. This method was used to make slaves more compliant and obedient. In the minds of the slave owners, the less they knew the better. Not only did his master say no to his inquiries, but he said they were improper and impertinent. This goes to show how invested the slave owners were in preventing slaves from learning anything about …show more content…

Douglass's second master, Mr. Auld once said: "If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master — to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy." (1, 33) By this he meant that if you teach a slave to read and write, he can no longer be a slave. This shows that the slave owners knew that it was unnatural to condition someone to be a slave. They knew that by simply becoming educated, they would no longer fit the mold, forever. Douglass heard this and understood that the way to escape slavery would be to learn to read and write. Ultimately, becoming educated did give Frederick Douglass the courage to escape (1, 34) Slavery not only corrupted those who were being enslaved. It had the additional effect of making those in charge cruel. Frederick Douglass once said about Mrs.

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It has opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 45). Frederick Douglass, through early guidance of his Mistress, was able to teach himself how to read. However, it was outlawed in the South to teach a slave

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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

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It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master” (176). Here is when Douglass shows why most slave owners preferred their slaves uneducated. When slaves are educated they become hard to control or have power over. Therefore, they would be unfit to be a slave and no use to their “master”.

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1043 Words | 5 Pages

The power of education sets us free from the rest of the world. Education is the most empowering force to have, it builds confidence and breaks down barriers. Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” and “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” is a common goals of breaking free from a system that was created by someone else. They achieve this by gaining the power of knowledge and understanding self-awareness. Douglass underlines the importance of education as the route to achieving freedom.

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Masters basically taught their slaves that they didn’t have any worth and humanity, that’s how he was raised as a slave, to be less than what he is. As a young slave he didn’t know much and that was normal. Masters wanted slaves not to know much of their status so they was quite clueless. Masters kept the slaves clueless so that they wouldn’t stand up for themselves. Slave owners wanted the slaves to know that in fact they were very to the slaves.

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Fredrick Douglass overhears this, and realizes that getting an education can actually lead him to freedom, and leaving slaves uneducated is a strategy to enslave blacks. He is then determined to learn anything he

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Douglass often expressed his opinions in his books. He stated, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free” (Douglass Narrative of the Life... 61). This quote highlights Douglass's view on the significance of education. Douglass believed that education could fight the mental struggles of slavery. He has a liberating worldview and emphasizes the importance of knowledge.

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During the 1800s slaves comprised most of the economy in the Southern part of the United States, forcefully taken from their countries to serve as tools in the homes of others, and deprived of education and knowledge of their lives. Because of the free labor provided, many disagreed with the abolishment of slavery and argued to keep slavery in the system. Mr. Auld, a slave master states, “A slave should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do.” This quote gives an example of the cruelty slaves were forced to tolerate, and how they were brainwashed to follow every command like a dog to his wretched owner. In the Narrative of a Life of Fredrick Douglass, Douglass was forced to endure the cruel commands of his master, while

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Slaves obtaining knowledge or an education were then viewed as unmanageable. One can see that through Frederick Douglass’s gain of education; Slavery began to look more than an imprisonment and his mind would not cease to think. With this depressing state of mind, Douglass would begin to plot for ways to obtain his education. Despite living in a country were teaching slaves was unpardonable, Frederick Douglass began to incorporate various ways for his education. He would hide in a separate room and would be suspected by his mistress that he could be reading a book.

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In the narrative, his master speaks of why it is not a good idea to teach slaves to read. It reads, “Now,” said he, “if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm.

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572 Words | 3 Pages

Education helps people improve completion of their tasks. For instance, education enables all mathematicians to solve for solutions and all great surgeons to perform their surgery because of their knowledge of the human body. However, in this autobiography, Douglass recounts that slaveowners did not want to educate their slaves. If education of slaves would enable them to be more helpful, why would slaveowners choose not to? This was because educating a slave was untraditional, and could cause a slave to rebel against their owner or commit suicide.

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Douglass is again denied of something he sees white people have so again he is deprived mentally. He begins seeking an education for basic things like reading and writing, things most people do automatically without even second guessing doing it. Sophia Auld starts to teach Douglass how to read, but once her husband tells her not to she refrains from it and Douglass frantically teaches himself. “Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 48). Mr. Auld knows that literacy is what makes a man out of a slave, so he shuts down Douglass’ learning as soon as he finds out about

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Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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Douglass says that “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. I do not remember to have ever

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484 Words | 2 Pages

and Mrs. Auld. Sophia Auld, his mistress, started teaching him how to read. Not long into their lessons Mr. Auld found out and forbade any other lessons to take place. He said that it was illegal to teach a slave, and that “Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.” Every chance he got Frederick Douglass would read.

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