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Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Many prominent figures have been directly linked to the issue of slavery, each contributing to it in one form or another. One name that stands out is Frederick Douglass, who became a very innovated leader for his people. Douglass was a leader to his people and knew the importance of freedom and the impact of an education, which can break all limits. Frederick Douglass was a fortunate individual who learned how to read which allowed him to become an inspiring speaker. Frederick Douglass felt the bonds of slavery and knew of its hardships, yet his experience with education, faith, atmosphere and labor was slightly different compared to his counterparts. Freedom for the slaves was a dream, it was a thought that was just out of grasp.
One that would lure them to go on day by day wishing and hoping for salvation and the day of release from the bondage of slavery. A key to obtaining this dream was an education, which was inaccessible to most slaves and limited their abilities in society and everyday life. To keep slaves from obtaining an education, most southern states made it against the law to teach a slave to read. The education they lacked or didn t get, Frederick Douglass was allowed to have. He was taught to read and write and learned valuable skills, which allowed him access almost anything his mind would let him.
It is only when he learns to read that Douglass can begin to define himself and recognize himself as someone outside of that generalized group. The opening of these doors allowed Douglass to be in a world he felt he deserved to be, a world of freedom and opportunity. With an education, Douglass was able to open doors that were once closed to him and became an inspiring figure to his people and to others. He moved crowds and people with his powerful speeches and his words pierced into the hearts of many as he made clear to them his intent in this world. Having an education made Douglass dangerous man to those in the South and gave Douglass a power like no other. Douglass was fortune to be taught, having been given ownership to Mr.
and Mrs. Auld of Baltimore was a miracle in disguise. There were a number of slave children that might have been sent from the plantation to Baltimore. There were those younger, those older, and those of the same age. I was chosen from among them all, and was the first, last, and only choice. (Douglass, 75) This was a first for things to come, having this happened would change the course of his life forever. Upon his 7 years with the Auld s, he learned to read and write, which awoken his mind as well as opened it for greater purposes.
His literacy prompted his continual thinking about the slave situation and also prompted his growing hatred of enslaver's, both individually and collectively. With knowledge in literature and an education, Douglass experience as a slave made him the perfect candidate for being an abolitionist speaker. Having words like thunder, he was able to shake crowds before him, making him a target for leadership and inspiration. He was a monumental person for his time inspiring people from across the world and getting the attention of higher status people like the royal family of England. Douglass development as a better person an a educator of the people came because of his hunger for knowledge, prevailing against all odds and demonstrated that an education can lead one into a path of joy and success.
Many slaves at this time era were poised in the same atmosphere, on a farm or plantation. Few slaves were able to venture out into the world to see other sights and experience new things. Many were usually kept on a regular farm like never seeing past their farm or countryside unless sold. Those who were able to travel to the city or broad ships with their master were consider very privileged and looked up to by the other slaves. These conditions were usually set by the slaveholders to limit the slaves experience outside, in fear that the slaves would get unholy ideas and run-away or do some other unimaginable thing.
Douglass was a rare case, having been picked to go to Baltimore to stay with the Auld family, not only did his atmosphere change but it was just the beginning of things to come. Going to Baltimore laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity. (Douglass, 75) It was here that he learned skills that were not permitted to other slaves and to see things that inspired him. Baltimore, being a port city, was lively with many festivities and for a slave, it was a privilege just to be there. Such an occurrence gave slaves a motivation to go on in hopes of being able to witness such a splendor.
The atmosphere around Douglass molded him into a different being, someone who developed a concept of himself as a man more then a slave. It showed him the wonders of the real world and what would await him if he ever were a free man. These sensations that were moved him and gave him refuge when he most needed it from the harshness of slavery. With his atmosphere different from most other slaves, Douglass grew into a more mature man and someone who new what awaited him as a free man. A person s faith is what usually keeps them going on in life and makes them a stronger person as a whole. Slaves relied on their faith to overcome the reality of slavery and it gave them solitude when they needed it most.
Though faith was common among slaves, but it mostly was revolved around a religion or family. To Frederick Douglass, faith is portrayed first by his literacy and secondly by his willingness to accept Sandy Jenkins root as protective. In one sense, his ability to read allowed him further insight into the life that he led which thereby gave him greater opportunity to survive both in it and outside of it. His oppression gave him a desire to break free, a motivation to excel, which he found in his ability to read and to write. He found what gave the white man power over the black man and Douglass was learning to overcome this power through progression of his self and his faith. Another significant action and reliance on faith is portrayed when Douglass finally allows some credit to be given to the protective powers of the root given to him by Sandy Jenkins.
His partial acceptance of the root as charmed gives him the advantage of fighting with more than himself because he is fighting with hope on his side. This becomes a significant action because Douglass not only places his faith in the object given to him, but also in Sandy. This act of trust shows Douglass mind opening to the intermediates that fall between the stereotypical notions of slave and slaveholder. With his faith, Douglass went on everyday overcoming and obstacles that were before him and improved his development as a man. Without the faith he relied on, Douglass would have had no motivation for the things that he did and probably wouldn t have taken the opportunities that were handed to him. Slaves were bonded by life to work for those they were owned by, and many of which had to do hard labor on a daily basis.
Many of the slaves had to work out in the fields, working the land for farming and growing of cash crops. The labor was broken down into several sections that was used to separate slaves from each other. There were those who were considered the strong hand who did most of the hard work, followed by the middle hand that did regular duties, and then there were the weak hands that did the easiest of jobs. Frederick Douglass was a fortunate soul who was sent off to live in the city where there were no fields to be worked on.
His luck was further by him learning new skills in city life. With no field he was able to do work inside the house and learn valuable skills that would carry on with him through his life. He learned to read and write while in the city not having to much to worry about, because his primary job was to take care of Thomas Auld, the son of the Douglass master. While he did later on feel the hardships and the pain of field life, he was first able to taste the city life that inspired him to go forth and become more then just a slave.
His life in the city changed him into someone more then just a slave and giving him more of a reason to live. It was at Baltimore, that Douglass was able to get the skills that would help in his future life and opened the doors to a better beginning for him. Frederick Douglass was a man who saw the cruelty of life firsthand and felt its bitterness. For this, he was a better man, who developed a self like no other. He was able to inspire people with his words and with his life as he spoke to crowds. Though life wasn t easy for him, his difference from other slaves gave him an opportunity like no other that he couldn t pass up.
If faith wouldn t have been so good on him, or if he would have been ignorant of the things handed to him, he might have still been a slave. Frederick Douglass is a truly great example of a self made man and a person who defies all odds and strides to become a better man.
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