Frederick Douglass was a slave, who was owned by Mr and Mrs Hughes. He grew up knowing nothing about slavery and not knowing how to read or write, but his “mistress” or Mrs.Hughes suggested that he was taught. Mrs.Hughes began to teach him the basics like the alphabet, but Mr.Hughes did not allow this to happen and immediately told Mrs,Hughes to stop. With Mr.Hughes disapproving of Mrs.Hughes for teaching Douglass to read she stopped giving Douglass lessons, but this did not stop him from finding another way to
Fredrick Douglass was born in February of 1818 he was an activist in the abolishment of slavery and a staple of what helped us abolish slavery, of course, there were other people that did help but Frederick Douglass was more known and he worked alone Fredrick Douglass changed my view of all men created equal by simply recruiting African American men to fight in the united states army he changed the view because of the fact that he wanted all men to be equal no matter what race you were, to be honest. Frederick Douglas even wrote his own newspaper article he wrote his own autobiography as well he changed to view successfully that men were all equal instead of only white men. Fredrick Douglas once said “if there is no struggle there is no progress”
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.
“I have observed this in my experience of slavery, – that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my freedom.” Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, this autobiography was published in 1845. Frederick a prominent abolitionist figure was the first black “public intellectual.” At a time where many slaves were illiterate and prohibited to learn how to read and write, Douglass, despite being forbidden to do so by his master (Hugh Auld), managed to learn to read and write. His narrative has very astounding vocabulary which impressed many people.
According to Mistress Hugh, “education and slavery were incompatible with each other” (Douglass, 33). Although Mistress Hugh had stopped teaching Douglass how to read, the seed of knowledge had already been planted. In the years that followed, his hunger for knowledge did not dissipate. Douglass devised various methods to learn to read and write in very clever ways.
“Let them know the heart of the poor slave - learn his secret thoughts - thoughts he dare not utter in the hearing of the white man; let them sit by him in the silent watches of the night - converse with him in trustful confidence, of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and they will find that ninety-nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to understand their situation, and to cherish in their bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as themselves.” This quote by Solomon Northup from his autobiography Twelve Years a Slave, perfectly describes the state of African American slaves in the 1800. Slaves longed for freedom, for the liberty promised by the deceleration of independence for every man, as long as his skin was
Frederick Douglass was an American slave who wrote The Narrative of Frederick Douglass in1845, he demonstrated that literacy and being free was linked. He also shows that literacy was not permitted to African slaves. In addition, Douglass shows how he was introduced to the literacy by his mistress Sophia Auld. But for him to keep learning how to read and write it was going to be a challenge since Sophia’s husband master Hugh Auld rejected the idea that she continues giving him lessons. Master Auld warns his wife “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell.”
Douglass states: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Douglass 51). Reading and writing opened Frederick Douglass’s eyes to the cause of the abolitionist. He became knowledgeable about a topic that white slave owners tried to keep hidden from their slaves. Literacy would eventually impact his life in more ways than what he could see while he was a young slave under Master Hugh’s
In Frederick Douglass’s narrative essay titled “Learning to Read” he recalls his journey to literacy. Throughout the essay Douglass reveals how he learned to read and write, despite the fact that education was strictly prohibited to slaves. Initially, Douglass learned how to read through his mistress, but he later learned from the little white boys on the streets. As for learning to write, he often times observed ship carpenters and replicated the copy-books of his Master’s son. Frederick Douglass did not have the same opportunities students have today, yet despite his adversities, Douglass was able to become a literate slave, and ultimately free himself from slavery with the power of
