Education is the Last Resort 32 million adults in the United States cannot read according to the U.S. Department of Education and National Institute of Literacy. Education has been one of the most powerful tools that people can have. This is one of the main reasons that slaves were not educated or why Black Americans still struggled to have the opportunity to receive an education. Slave masters wanted to keep slaves, like Frederick Douglass, uneducated because they wanted to remain in control, fear of rebellion and to instill worthlessness in the slaves. These factors contribute to the idea of what made Frederick Douglass so remarkable in his future endeavors. Slavery was ultimately driven by control. Slave masters were able to control
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His birth name was actually Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey and originally from Maryland. His fate seemed inevitable as he was born into slavery a product of his black slave mother and her white master. After his escape from slavery at age young age of 20, Douglass changed his name by paying homage to the hero Sir Walter Scott 's "The Lady of the Lake". Douglas ended up writing about his former years as a slave in the summation of three autobiographies. They were: Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave, and My Bondage and My Freedom. These autobiographies served as tremendous contributions to the South. The memoirs were used as a way to spark civil rights activism and on a personal revelation for himself. Each piece of his work was marked in history as some of the finest depictions of a slave …show more content…
He was one of the first African American males to break the mold and outline a path for others like him to follow. Refusing to accept his pre-determined fate of a life sentence of slavery, he used his ambition, courage, and his will to be different to teach himself how to read and write. One defining decision took him on a journey to becoming an author and an activist. It may sound cliché but knowledge is truly power for those who refuse to accept no for an answer. It is the key to success for individuals who choose to get back up and keep moving when failure has relentlessly tried to knock them down. Douglass 's ability to bend (not break) with the winds of change is what made him a legend, and a role model who will be forever known as one of history 's renowned
His birth name was actually Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey and originally from Maryland. His fate seemed inevitable as he was born into slavery a product of his black slave mother and her white master. After his escape from slavery at age young age of 20, Douglass changed his name by paying homage to the hero Sir Walter Scott 's "The Lady of the Lake". Douglas ended up writing about his former years as a slave in the summation of three autobiographies. They were: Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave, and My Bondage and My Freedom. These autobiographies served as tremendous contributions to the South. The memoirs were used as a way to spark civil rights activism and on a personal revelation for himself. Each piece of his work was marked in history as some of the finest depictions of a slave …show more content…
He was one of the first African American males to break the mold and outline a path for others like him to follow. Refusing to accept his pre-determined fate of a life sentence of slavery, he used his ambition, courage, and his will to be different to teach himself how to read and write. One defining decision took him on a journey to becoming an author and an activist. It may sound cliché but knowledge is truly power for those who refuse to accept no for an answer. It is the key to success for individuals who choose to get back up and keep moving when failure has relentlessly tried to knock them down. Douglass 's ability to bend (not break) with the winds of change is what made him a legend, and a role model who will be forever known as one of history 's renowned