Paper Assignment for the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
American Historical Survey Online: Fall 2014
Emma White
Northwest Missouri State University On August 3, 1857 Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York. While being an eminent human rights leader in the abolitionist movement of the United States, Frederick Douglass made this powerful statement, “Without struggle there can be no progress.” Throughout his autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, we see how much Douglass struggled throughout his life to reach his ultimate goal of becoming a free man.
Born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland, …show more content…
He compared their enthusiasm to that of a State Representatives’ pride when serving in the American Congress. At the “Great House Farm,” Colonel Lloyd’s cruel overseers, Mr. Severe and Mr. Austin Gore, punished any slave that stepped out of line. Douglass recalls the whipping of Demby the slave by Mr. Austin Gore. After Gore whipped Demby he ran to the nearby creek to soothe his aching back. Gore gave Demby three calls to come out of the creek, but he never came. When Demby gave no response, Gore shot him. Mr. Gore justified his actions by telling that Demby was setting a bad example for the other slaves, and that if one slave could disobey their master, then all other slaves would try, making the white people slaves and the blacks into slaveholders. On Colonel Lloyd’s plantation Douglass’s life is not as hard as some of the other slaves, but here Douglass sees and experiences, first-hand, the evils of …show more content…
Written by Himself. There are many things in this title that stuck out to readers in the past and in the present. By calling himself an American slave, Douglass reminded the readers that his story and slavery in general, didn’t happen in some far away land. It happened right here in America, the “land of the free.” Douglass pointed out that the land of the free is also the land of slavery. The second phrase that readers should notice in the title is when he says “Written by Himself.” In the 1800s, when this was released, most people had a hard time believing that a black person could read and write. When Douglass’s book became a Bestseller, many skeptics believed that he had help. How could a slave, someone so suppressed and supposedly ignorant write such an eloquent autobiography? In the Preface Douglass included two different famous writers to point out that he wrote his whole book on his own. By writing this book Douglass proved that black people were equal to
American Historical Survey Online: Fall 2014
Emma White
Northwest Missouri State University On August 3, 1857 Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York. While being an eminent human rights leader in the abolitionist movement of the United States, Frederick Douglass made this powerful statement, “Without struggle there can be no progress.” Throughout his autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, we see how much Douglass struggled throughout his life to reach his ultimate goal of becoming a free man.
Born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland, …show more content…
He compared their enthusiasm to that of a State Representatives’ pride when serving in the American Congress. At the “Great House Farm,” Colonel Lloyd’s cruel overseers, Mr. Severe and Mr. Austin Gore, punished any slave that stepped out of line. Douglass recalls the whipping of Demby the slave by Mr. Austin Gore. After Gore whipped Demby he ran to the nearby creek to soothe his aching back. Gore gave Demby three calls to come out of the creek, but he never came. When Demby gave no response, Gore shot him. Mr. Gore justified his actions by telling that Demby was setting a bad example for the other slaves, and that if one slave could disobey their master, then all other slaves would try, making the white people slaves and the blacks into slaveholders. On Colonel Lloyd’s plantation Douglass’s life is not as hard as some of the other slaves, but here Douglass sees and experiences, first-hand, the evils of …show more content…
Written by Himself. There are many things in this title that stuck out to readers in the past and in the present. By calling himself an American slave, Douglass reminded the readers that his story and slavery in general, didn’t happen in some far away land. It happened right here in America, the “land of the free.” Douglass pointed out that the land of the free is also the land of slavery. The second phrase that readers should notice in the title is when he says “Written by Himself.” In the 1800s, when this was released, most people had a hard time believing that a black person could read and write. When Douglass’s book became a Bestseller, many skeptics believed that he had help. How could a slave, someone so suppressed and supposedly ignorant write such an eloquent autobiography? In the Preface Douglass included two different famous writers to point out that he wrote his whole book on his own. By writing this book Douglass proved that black people were equal to