Frederick Douglass Fight For Freedom Essay

The year is 1834, as the hot sun beams down on your freshly stricken back, sweat drips down your spine, joined by the blood that spills from your open wounds. In the distance, you can hear the crack of a whip breaking the sound barrier, followed by the horrid screams of your spouse, friend, or family member, as it lays into their bare naked body. Knowing there’s nothing you can do, you hang your head in sorrow and continue on with your daily routine. Unfortunately, this is a life many African Americans had to endure in the country we call home today. Many slaves would accept this way of life until the day they died, but few would strive for change and do anything to make freedom a reality. Frederick Douglass was one of those few slaves that fought for his freedom, became literate, and would not let anything stand in his way. That is why Frederick Douglass’s …show more content…
Douglass was a fighter and wasn’t afraid to raise his hands for protection against a white man, in spite of the severe consequences. For example, Douglass’s fight with Mr. Corvey, as he put it, “was the turning point in my career as a slave” (Douglass, 43). Throughout his narrative he discussed multiple fights he had with white men. One of the most dreadful fights was at Fell’s Point in the ship yard where he almost lost his eye. He was attacked by 4 white men while nearly 50 others watched. After he took his beating, he went home and explained to his master what had happened. In all of our other documents we examined, not one mentioned a black man laying a hand on a white man. From the reading we know that if a black man lays hands on a white man, his death by hanging is almost certain. Douglass even said, “I succeeded in getting away without an additional blow, and barely so; for to strike a white man is death by lynch law” (Douglass, 57). He was never even threatened with this