(Three reasons how Jefferson and Douglass compare in their writings?)
Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of our nation, has many values we American’s view as good ones. His ideas influence our lives every day, such as those in the constitution. It has many views within it that have changed our world and shaped it into the world it is today. We can’t help but think of our world without these amendments or how we might be without them. If we didn’t have some of the amendments in that constitution, our lives could be dramatically different. A lot of Jefferson’s ideas are similar to those of Frederick Douglass’. Douglass was born into slavery, but died a free man. When Jefferson said “all men are created equal” that’s what …show more content…
Jefferson talks in the constitution about how freedom of any kind is important to people and makes for happy living. Without freedom, many people says it’s not worth living. That’s how Frederick Douglass and other African-Americans thought when they were enslaved by white men. Douglass on the other hand did something about it, and in the end, became a free man. In Jefferson’s time, a lot of people had issues with religious freedom and how to regulate it. William Bryan wrote The Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom and he says, “When Jefferson assisted in establishing religious freedom, he assisted in giving to our government its strongest support.” Jefferson knew people wanted religious freedom and thought that it was a necessity in lives. People should be able to believe in whatever they want as long as it’s not hurting or harming others. Judith Shklar quotes Jefferson saying in The Renaissance American, “Freedom is a right because ‘the opinions and beliefs of men depend not on their own will,’ as Jefferson was to say over and over again for the rest of his life.” Like Jefferson said, no man should have to change his beliefs just to conform to society, it’s his opinion and it should be heard. Douglass would completely agree with this because he was a slave and freedom was all he wanted. Everyone who was a slave wanted nothing more than to be free, nobody wanted to be another man’s property. What’s the point of living life if you cannot live it how you