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Frederick Douglass: The Power Of Knowledge

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The Power Of Knowledge
Frederick Douglass wrote , the white man’s power to enslave the black man” comes from education (746). This is very true for numerous factors in life.
Knowledge is a very important tool in life.It can take one many places.Having knowledge can help any individual through a lot of situations and prepare them mentally for numerous experiences in life. Knowledge has been proven to be very powerful in life. Many important figures such as Isaac Newton,Galileo Galilei, and Charles Dickens were respected wholly due to their brainspan and knowledgeable work. With an IQ level of 192 Newton was known for developing what is known today as calculus. Nonetheless, Newton was very successful at mathematics and physics. Galilei ,with …show more content…

It is a proven fact that increasing one’s knowledge can benefit them mentally as an individual. Many slaves achieve freedom due to obtaining knowledge of aspects such as The Underground Railroad. Slaves also learned how to communicate effectively with other slaves aiding in the escape of many men and women. This fact remained apparent as a teacher worked with prisoners seeking educational resources. Elizabeth Hinton found that after working with prisoners they seemed more enthusiastic about life after prison. After meeting with the prisoners after they were released she found that education helped them to find exceptional work with one prisoner landing a corporate position. Without education many of these prisoners would have ended back into trouble more than likely returning to prison for the rest of their lives(New York Times). Also in modern history many have to think of education as a source of freedom. Many people of all nationalities travel to the United States to get the perfect education for themselves. A lot of immigrants come into the United States to study medicine and other things to help people in need in their native countries. This education can possibly break barriers for their families so that they can provide wholeheartedly for their …show more content…

"Benjamin Franklin Quotes." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2018. 20 March 2018. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/benjamin_franklin_141119

"Can you play dead... harrowing calls to Florida massacre children." London Evening Standard [London, England], 9 Mar. 2018, p. 18. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, https://ezproxy.nscc.edu:3443/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530405650/OVIC?u=tel_a_nsti&xid=fb25ecc1. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.

“Give Prisoners a Chance at a College Education.” New York Times, 18 Mar. 2018, Source Citation "Can you play dead... harrowing calls to Florida massacre children." London Evening Standard [London, England], 9 Mar. 2018, p. 18. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, https://ezproxy.nscc.edu:3443/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530405650/OVIC?u=tel_a_nsti&xid=fb25ecc1. Accessed 20 Mar.

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According to the materiel Of The People, Frederick Douglass was born as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbo Country, Maryland, in 1818. He was born into slavery and at the age of seven he was sent to Baltimore and became a ship caulker. He hired out his labor, paying his master three dollars a week and keeping the rest for himself per their agreement. Frederick planned his escape when his master told him to pay him all his earnings rather that just the three dollars a week. After he escaped to the north he started attending and speaking at antislavery meetings.

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“’Cause to know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. … They thinks we want what they got” (page 55). John said this when telling Sarny about the dangers of a slave reading. Both the slaves and Waller, the plantation owner, know that with a good education, you can get yourself out of a bad situation.

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Often times, it is assumed that learning does not have negative consequences and leads to one’s enlightenment What people don’t realize is that being thrown into the light can burn. Associating learning with pain is clearly illustrated in both Plato’s Republic and Frederick Douglass’ The Education of Frederick Douglass. Both works represent people who move past their ignorance through the acquisition of knowledge and step into the light, both literally and metaphorically; they become aware of their own situations and with that comes pain. Book seven of Plato’s Republic (trans. 1968) presents the allegory of the cave and the idea that learning isn’t always pleasant.

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Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day. Charles Finney was a religious leader who promoted social reforms such as the abolition of slavery. He also fought for equality in education for women as well as for African Americans.

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Progress is something everyone has to struggle and fought it through. Without progress and struggles, people wouldn't know how to make something better. Frederick Douglass once said that “If there’s no struggle, there’s no progress.” The struggle can be a physical struggle or a moral struggle, and any of them would work.

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Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography My Bondage and my Freedom in order to prove to the world that even though he was an eloquent speaker, he had once been a salve. In one chapter, initially Mrs. Auld was glad about Douglass’s reading because she taught him. “My mistress-who had begun to teach me,” (Douglass pg 521). I think that Mrs. Auld is later “violent in her opposition” to Douglass’s reading because her husband taught her that slaves are things and not people.

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The theme of chapter 3 is Knowledge and Ignorance. Knowledge and Ignorance is the theme of chapter 3 because their owners always felt above them and could whip a slave at any time for any reason. On page 17 of the Douglass autobiography, Douglass says that, when it came to slaves, “They never knew when they were safe from punishment.” The slaves had no clue when someone with a whip would come up to them and start attacking them. The slaves had a lot of work, and if a slave made a small error, they could easily be found out.

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Annotated bibliography Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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African-American slaves were forbidden to obtain the knowledge of being able to read or write, stemming from the fear of white masters that educated slaves will overpower them. Douglass managed to learn to read by bribing poor and hungry white boys into teaching him in exchange for bits of bread. Douglass illustrates his thirst for literacy through “[The] bread [he] used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give [him] that more valuable bread of knowledge” (pg 23). This reveals how much Douglass valued education and took advantage of all the knowledge he had access to. Today’s youth, especially the ones belonging to a minority

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NHD Outline *primary* (paraphrase) Introduction We had on the plantation an overseer, by the name of Austin Gore, a man who was highly respected as an overseer proud, ambitious, cruel, artful, obdurate. Nearly every slave stood in the utmost dread and horror of that man. His eye flashed confusion amongst them. He never spoke but to command, nor commanded but to be obeyed.

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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.

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An education often opens new doors for people, but how does a lack of an education affect other people? What causes such a stark difference between people with knowledge and people no knowledge at all? In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass an American Slave we can see that Douglass is more intelligent than the other slaves on the plantation he is living on due to his hidden ability to read. With his level of education, he is able to see the brutal mistreatment of slaves and is unable to look at things the same way when he was an uneducated slave. The slaves on the plantation do not know how to read and therefore do not view being a slave the way Douglass views it.

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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.

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