How Did Frederick Douglass Contribute To Education

Fredrick Douglass was a prominent figure as a leader in the fight against the continuance of slavery in Antebellum American. Douglass had been born into slavery but through a series of kindness, a willingness to learn, and a sharp intellect he was able to find his way to freedom literate and ready to help recuse his fellow slaves. Education beyond their manual labor, a deeper understanding into the truth behind their taught Christianity, and the willingness to share his experiences of hate, pain, and abuse allowed Douglass to place himself apart from his peers and reach a level that garnered him the support to make changes in the world.
Education to a slave was an unfamiliar concept. They were taught how to build, farm, maintain, and cook

They were forced to endure the harsher philosophies presented in bible that gave the slave owner’s their religious backing to treat their slaves in any manner that they found fitting. They only selected the passages in the bible that promoted the continuance of slavery and demanded obedience from their slaves, “ʺHe that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Douglass 1207). The slaves were taught the Christian doctrine to reiterate their sole purpose in live was to be obedient to their owners. It was apparent to Douglass, however, that his masters hid behind their religion to secure their superiority and be reaffirm that a higher power sanctioned the atrocious acts of humiliation and cruelty, “I have said my master found religious sanction for his cruelty” (1207). This highlights the duality of the Christian doctrine where they preach kindness to all, yet still condone treating slaves as subhuman chattel. As his education grew, Douglass became more aware of this duality and the hollowness of the professed sincerity of his masters. It was through spreading the message of these atrocious acts of abuse and violence committed in the name of claiming religious sanctity that Douglass began to garner support for his

Those that were not within the trade heard rumors of the acts that were committed but many were apathic to the plight of others that did not directly affected them. However, once Douglass began to speak and write about his time as a slave recounting the at times unsolicited violence that occurred, the tides began to turn within the public opinion. It was no longer merely rumor, it was fact being presented by a survivor. Within the “NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE” Douglass brought to life the everyday horrors that he had witnessed such as the treatment of his aunt, “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest” (1184). This image of a woman being whipped and treated with such degradation was appalling to bear to the supporters of the abolition. It was not only these images of violent acts of abuse that caused their hearts to demand the end to these practices but the clear indication of starvation that was forced upon them because of their master’s view of them being property not humans, “Added to the cruel lashings to which these slaves were subjected, they were kept nearly half‐starved” (1198). Theses clear harsh and abrupt realities that Douglass felt compelled to convey in his writings enhanced his audience’s awareness of the truth that they had allowed themselves