Frederick Douglass Free Essays

This paper attempts to reintroduce the abolitionist Frederick Douglass who played a large role in ending slavery in the United States just before the Civil War. It also intends to answer the question, â€Å"What does Frederick Douglass have to say about the consequences of slavery for Americans, black and white, North and South?† Who is Frederick Douglass? Frederick Douglass was responsible for the abolitionist movement, which actually put an end to slavery which has been occurring in the United States just before the Civil War (Frederick Douglass n.p. We will write a custom essay sample on Frederick Douglass or any similar topic only for you Order Now ).  What does Frederick Douglass have to say about the consequences of slavery for Americans, black and white, North and South? Change of Name The fact that he found out that â€Å"southern slave catchers were roaming the city looking for fugitives in boarding houses that accepted blacks†, his initial reaction to this was not to trust anybody he would meet along the way as he journeys through his life (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). However, as he came looking for a job and a shelter, he met David Ruggles, â€Å"who actually harbors runaway slaves and assisted them reach safe locations in the United States, as well as, Canada† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). He also altered his name to avoid being arrested (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). He changed it from Frederick Baily to Frederick Douglass (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Subscriber of Liberator At first though, his reaction was not that obvious since he â€Å"worked as a common laborer† wherein â€Å"he sawed wood, shoveled coal, dug cellars, as well as, loaded and unloaded ships†   (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). However, when he was offered to subscribe to a newspaper called â€Å"Liberator†, which was â€Å"edited by the articulate leader of the American Anti-Slavery Society, named William Garrison†, he also â€Å"felt really sorry† for the slaves (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Membership to the American Anti-Slavery Society After that, he joined the abolitionist movement wherein he attended â€Å"lectures in New Bedford† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). He became an official member of the â€Å"American Anti-Slavery Society†, which in turn was instituted in 1833 (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Articulation of Thoughts by Preaching Because the, black abolitionists were having difficulty articulating their points of view, â€Å"black leaders kept up a constant battle to reduce racial prejudice in the North† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Also because of that, he decided to articulate some of his thoughts by becoming a preacher at the â€Å"black Zion Methodist Church† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). He negated â€Å"attempts by white southerners to oblige blacks to leave and proceed to Africa† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.).   This only shows how Frederick Douglass disagrees to â€Å"African colonization schemes† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Issuance of Statements in the Liberator In turn, Frederick Douglass’ opposition to â€Å"African colonization schemes† led him to issue â€Å"anti-colonization statements in the Liberator† (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). He did this by: 1) convincing other individuals to subscribe to the â€Å"Liberator†, as well as, another newspaper technically referred to as the â€Å"Anti-Slavery Standard†; and 2) continuing to lecture nationwide about his life and his thoughts about slavery (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). His lectures or speeches entail his personal experiences, for instance about, atrocious whippings set by â€Å"slave-owners to women, children, and elderly people†; â€Å"head of girl covered with festering sores†; â€Å"masters ‘breeding’ their female slaves†; â€Å" clergymen warning slaves that they would be offending God if they disobeyed their masters†; etc (From Slave to Abolitionist/Editor n.p.). Religion and Economic Status of Whites In addition to the aforementioned, he was so determined to â€Å"show how and why the institution of slavery works†, which in turn revealed its rough treatment and unfairness (Douglass n.p.). For Frederick Douglass, slavery is not â€Å"normal†, as opposed to the views of most people wherein religion and economic status has proven that whites should treat blacks as slaves (Douglass n.p.). Informing Through Writing Also, he exposed the evilness of slavery by writing to eventually inform the â€Å"white audience† with regards to the occurrence in the slave plantations including brutal and corrupt behaviors (Douglass n.p.). He wrote about effects or consequences of slavery including: 1) â€Å"slave owners impregnating their slaves†; 2) raping of Black women; 3) unfortunate fate of the slave’s children; 4) dehumanization of both slave owners and slaves; 4) physical effect/s – lash wounds; 5) emotional effects – the pain of knowing that you are unable to put an end to the situation (Douglass n.p.). Imagery For Frederick Douglass, the aforementioned consequences should be kept away from him (Penguin Group USA n.p.). The women who have undergone slavery or abuse that he wrote about were imageries for the purpose of safely keeping Frederick Douglass â€Å"himself from the dehumanized and demeaned body of the slave† (Penguin Group USA n.p.). This is why Frederick Douglass has to say all that about the consequences of slavery for Americans, black and white, North and South (Penguin Group USA n.p.). This is why he directly stated that slavery leads to abuses including, for instance, the: â€Å"stripping and whipping of a woman; beating of slaves; etc† (Penguin Group USA n.p.). References Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 2006. SparkNotes LLC. 16 November 2007 Frederick Douglass. n.d. n.a. 16 November 2007 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASdouglass.htm From Slavery to Abolitionist/Editor. n.d. n.a. 16 November 2007 http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/part2.html Penguin Group USA. Book Clubs/Reading Guide. 2007. n.a. 16 November 2007 http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:7nO6kn0StaAJ:us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/narrative_life_of_frederick_douglass.html+consequences+of+slavery+%2B+Narrative+of+Frederick+Douglasshl=tlct=clnkcd=2gl=phclient=firefox-a How to cite Frederick Douglass, Essay examples Frederick Douglass Free Essays The American Slave In Sharon McElwee’s literary analysis of Frederic Douglass literary piece, â€Å"The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass,† Sharon breaks down the different key elements in Douglass’ story that make it so outstanding. Frederick Douglass is famous for his speech given during a time where slavery was still considered acceptable and was used by most wealthy white. Slavery was not viewed as cruel, but a valuable business that could earn them money. We will write a custom essay sample on Frederick Douglass or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although Douglass was not alone, his speech stands out among the others who were fighting for their freedom. Sharon first notices the use of repetition that Douglass uses in his work. She claims that this theme of repetition allows the reader to focus primarily on the content, or message, rather than the literary structure that may sometimes be distracting. Douglass left little room for the imagination and made sure to reiterate and describe exactly what he was saying. She gathers from his works that Douglass wanted to get one main point across; that slavery is dehumanizing and an unfair practice that should be done away with. Because Douglass mentioned these two things numerous times, the reader is able to really connect with the purpose of Douglass argument. Douglass would use words with negative connotation repeatedly throughout his descriptions to help emphasize the fact that nothing good was to be associated with slavery. Sharon even notes that each sentence has a formula that Douglass used to help eliminate any outside thought. Before the semicolon, the first word of each section is the, the second word is an adjective that ends in -er, the third word is either he or she, depending on the subject, and the final word of each section is a verb ending in -ed. This formula makes for easy reading, and again puts the emphasis on the act, allowing the reader to feel they are watching this event unfold in front of them and are able to create their own image instead of some made up, un realistic image that represents a false meaning. Sharon believes that Douglass strongest point throughout his entire work was the incident of the innocent slave being whipped by his slave master for no reason. Sympathy always helps the reader to feel more connected and emotionally involved with the piece. Douglass describes how an innocent slave is beaten for every action he made, no matter if it was right or wrong. This also is made even more powerful by a continuation of repetition throughout his description. Sharon see’s strength in Douglass writing when he describes the beauty of freedom as a ‘glorious resurrection from the tomb of slavery to the heaven of freedom. ’ During this time, the dominant religion was Christianity, therefore Douglass made a spiritual connection with the majority of his readers by making biblical references to the joy of being a free man. Although Sharon sees that Douglass, who is a Christian himself, hates any Christian who owns slaves. Douglass does a good job of hiding this fact from his readers due to his knowledge that a vast majority of his audience would indeed be slave owning Christians. Sharon agrees that Douglass is regarded as one of the greatest anti-slavery works ever written in American history. Through his use of repetition, his emotional and spiritual connection, and his confidence, Douglass was able to get people thinking about right and wrong. His clever writing made it clear and easy for the reader to fully understand his message, leaving no room for doubt about the way Douglass feels about what is going on around him. No fancy tricks, no crazy words, just quick and to the point. The reader gets a up-close and personal look at the unfair treatment of slaves and is allowed to fully understand why slavery should be abolished. I agree with everything that Sharon mentioned in her critique. I would have liked for her to focus more on Frederic Douglass himself and really dig deep into the kind of person he was. I believe, as a reader, that if I felt more acquainted with Frederic I would have connected with her analysis even more. But, Sharon stuck to her job and did a critique on the literary piece and not the author! How to cite Frederick Douglass, Papers