What Is The Relationship Between Frederick Douglass And Education

In Frederick Douglass’s biography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he writes about his belief that all people are created equal. He also writes that none of us were born free in the first place: we have to make ourselves into who we are and earn our own freedom. Education and self-improvement are incredibly important to Douglas, perhaps because he was denied an education. As a slave, Frederick Douglass was not allowed to learn to read or write. This motivated him with the desire to learn above all else. While he is owned by the Auld family, Mrs. Auld begins to teach Douglass the alphabet and some short words. Hugh Auld, her husband, orders her to stop this practice immediately. He claims that education ruins slaves, making them unmanageable and unhappy. Douglass later overhears Mr. Auld revealing his true intent in denying slaves an education; without education, slaves could never become free. Understanding Mr. Auld’s intent, Douglass writes “I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man” (257) Douglass understands that education

In fact, he argues that slavery and education are polar opposites. He works towards making himself free by expanding his understanding through reading. While still determined to physically escape, Douglass recognizes that education allows him to escape his situation even when enslaved. Douglass believes that his mind can be free even when his body is not. At some points, Douglass worries that, “I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy” (262). Eventually, Douglass finds that reading provided him with the small seed of confidence which allowed him to maintain hope that freedom would someday be