ipl-logo

Frederick Douglass Impact On Education

1343 Words6 Pages

Frederick Douglas is one of the most well-known African Americans leaders whose journey to success was nothing short of a miracle. Frederick Douglas was born in 1818 many years before slavery was finally abolished (Douglass,13). Frederick Douglass escaped slavery when he was just twenty years old and used his new found freedom to help fight for other oppressed people. Douglas became an abolitionist and advocated for women's rights and also fought very hard to make sure that African Americans would have access to education. Frederick Douglass wanted to change the United States of America into a place where all people could live freely regardless of their backgrounds and he noted that education was one of the most powerful tools to do such a thing. In one of Frederick Douglas narratives named, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas” Douglas writes about how important education was for him and how most oppressors use knowledge as a way to keep other people oppressed. …show more content…

Mrs. Auld took the time to teach Douglass how to read and write before having her husband, Mr.Auld force her to stop. Mr. Auld’s reasoning for why he didn’t want Douglass to learn how to read resonated with Douglass and caused him to realize the importance of education. Mr. Auld told Mrs. Auld that “ Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. ...If you teach that nigger how to read there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (Douglass,14). After hearing Mr.Auld explain why he should not be allowed to read and write, Douglass says he understood what gave, “...The white man the power to enslave the black man”(Douglass,14) which was

Show More
Related
197 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
486 Words | 2 Pages

After having read both Frederick Douglass’s Narrative and Harriet Jacobs’s Incident 1. How were Douglass and Jacobs similar and different in their complaints against slavery? What accounts for these differences? In both the inspiring narratives of Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Frederick Douglass’s and in Incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs the respective authors demonstrate the horrors and disparity of slavery in there own ways.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in 1818 in Tuckahoe, Maryland. He was born a slave, to an African American women and an unknown white man. He was raised by his grandmother until about the age of seven when he was sold to a new owner. His owner’s wife taught him the alphabet, but he taught himself how to read and write. He attempted to escape to the North and become a free man on many occasions, but was unsuccessful until about the age of twenty.

Read More
575 Words | 3 Pages

Our first reading of EN101, Fredrick Douglass’ “Learning to Read,” helped our class to better understand the privilege of being a writer. Douglass lives in Hugh Auld’s household for roughly seven years. During this time, he is able to learn how to read and write, though Mrs. Auld is hardened and no longer tutors him. Slavery hurts Mrs. Auld as much as it hurts Douglass himself. The mentality of slavery strips her of her inherent sympathy for others, making her hardened and cruel.

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

Fredrick Douglass learned that enslavers hated enslaved people knowing to read and write as they feared what the enslaved people could do this that information. Douglass heard Mr. Auld ban Mrs. Auld from teaching Douglass how to read because, as he states, “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” (Douglass Fredrick 38). Fredrick Douglass realized freedom was possible through learning, which inspired him to escape and learn more.

Read More
844 Words | 4 Pages

Fredrick Douglass meets Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia and he is surprised about how nice she is. She does not really know how to treat slaves because she has never had them. A slave with education is said to be a dangerous slave so they are not supposed to be taught. However it seems like Mrs. Auld did not know that, and she began to teach Douglass the Alphabet which is a big turning point in Douglass’s life as a slave. Mr. Auld figures out that his wife has been teaching Douglass, and he puts an end to it, and he tells her how dangerous it is to teach a slave.

Read More
1084 Words | 5 Pages

Every person learns from his or her environment, and especially from those who surround them. However, if the community does not provide the necessary needs for education, there is a deprivation of learning and a chance of not developing a thriving community. Frederick Douglass demonstrates the importance of pursuing an education in an unsupportive community in “How I Learned to Read and Write.” Douglass’s education grows due to those who surround him by tricking boys to teach him unintentionally. Education includes the perspective which affects an individual's opinion.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass in his narrative “Why I learned to Read and Write” demonstrates how he surpassed many obstacles along the way towards getting an education. These obstacles not only shaped Frederick’s outlook on life but also influenced him in his learning to read and write. Frederick’s main challenge was that of not being an owner of his person but rather a slave and a property to someone else. Frederick Douglass lived in the time when slavery was still taking place and slaveholders viewed slavery and education as incompatible. The slave system didn’t allow mental or physical freedom for slaves; slaveholders were to keep the apt appearance and slaves were to remain ignorant.

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

Frederick Douglass during his time of growing up were very harsh but then quickly learned he was on his own after being sent to different plantations. He was a strong individual who quickly learned the slavery process and tried to put a stop to it. Frederick Douglass well always be remembered for doing so much to abolish the slavery movement and trying to get equal rights for everybody. He will also be known mostly for his orator and

Read More
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

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is a personal narrative which describes a specific time in his childhood when he was learning to read and write. Born as a slave in the pre-Civil War south, Douglass was not expected to be literate. However, through strong ambition, Douglass overcame restrictions and stereotypes placed on slaves and taught himself to read and write. Later in his life, Frederick Douglass wrote down this story in his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. Today, students and adults can enjoy this narrative on how he overcame the struggles of learning how to read and write.

Read More
973 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1727 Words | 7 Pages

In many countries living in extremely poor conditions, not only is basic health an issue but also the lack of education. Although it is a necessity, “more than 72 million children of primary education age are not in school and 759 million adults are illiterate” (Rights to Education 1). The deprivation of education should be taken serious if a change is wanted. People need to become aware of how important education is and the benefit that it has.

Read More
836 Words | 4 Pages

Human slavery requires ignorance, just as an individual’s freedom, from oppression, requires knowledge attained by education. To maintain order and control over slaves, slavery demands ignorant slaves; thus, keeping slaves ignorant prevents slaves from recognizing the empowering value of education and education’s ability to liberate slaves from the effects of ignorance. Frederick Douglass’s pursuit of education helped him discover the dark, hidden truths of slavery in his article, “How I Learned to Read and Write.” Thus, the pursuit of education inspires a desire for freedom. The desire to learn generates determination and motivation.

Read More
1673 Words | 7 Pages

However, literacy turns out to be not only bliss, but also painful. Indeed, while learning to read Frederick becomes more and more aware of the injustices of slavery, and this leads him to regret this knowledge “Learning how to read had become a curse rather than a blessing” ( Douglass ) . Douglass believes in the importance of education. He thinks that education is a key part to our life; it is the only way to get freedom. Literacy is very powerful because it can set anyone free to pursue dreams.

Read More

More about Frederick Douglass Impact On Education

Related Topics

Open Document