Frederick Douglas was an escaped slave and abolitionist leader in the nineteenth century. Having seen the atrocities of slavery and its effects on people first-hand, he said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” In this quote, Douglas compares people to machines in an analogy as a way to explain the importance of a solid foundation throughout childhood. Douglas’s choice of words such as “build” and “repair” imply that people are comparable to machines. A machine that’s built correctly will be sturdy and reliable, but one built incorrectly will have problems and need fixing in the future. Likewise, a child growing up in a safe environment will become a strong, independent person, but someone who doesn’t have