Frederick Douglass During The Late 17th And 18th Century

During the late 17th and 18th centuries, a wave of new philosophies and understanding came over many intellects of that period, which brought an ever-lasting affect on the world we know today. Before the period of Enlightenment, the people were forced to believe everything that was told to them, follow under the rule of a king and the wealthy, and shelter their own opinions while being spoon fed every judgement that they are told to call their own. With the help of intellectual Enlightenment thinkers, the world view was altered to “…science, statistics, history, literature” (93), which helped paved the way to the views we know today. Taking a look at the Constitution, we see the outlines of basic human rights, including an individuals right to a speedy trial. Although a speedy trial seems second nature to us, before the Enlightenment a speedy trial was uncommon. Another reference to our Constitution, the first amendment outlines an individuals’ right to freedom of religion. Kings and Queens of this time period influenced all to stay under one religion, if you strayed from that religion you would be be flogged, shunned, …show more content…
Although many freed slaves have written on the topic, Frederick Douglass has become the most famous orator in this genre. During his time slaves were sheltered from the privilege of learning the basic skills involved in reading and writing. Douglass was in opposition to these rules, and was dedicated to teach himself how to read and write. This lead to a revolutionary movement, using Douglass’ works as the backbone of this genre. Slave Narratives are works written by the once-oppressed, giving the reader a first hand view on what life as a slave actually was like. Without the works of Douglass, people would not grasp the true adversity slaves were forced into, leaving Slave Narratives as a prominent, heart breaking genre that is vital to understand our nation’s