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Freedom In Americ The Battle Between Mr. Covey And Douglass

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When the battle between Mr. Covey and Douglass occurred it changed his opinion of giving up on freedom. Douglass states, “This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning point in my slave career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood” (2207). In Peter C. Myer’s: Frederick Douglass 's America: Race, Justice and the Promise of the Founding, he describes that within his youth this climatic reversal he resolved to resist, and successfully resisted, a cruel slavemaster’s attempt to whip him. His forceful resistance proved no less powerfully liberating than his literacy. Douglass gained new knowledge that would help him defeat being whipped. From that moment on, Douglass was resolved …show more content…
Freeland’s he opened a Sabbath School and taught slaves and devoted Sundays teaching them to read. He felt honored to be able to teach them. Douglass said his slave friends had been starved and said he wanted to teach because he felt as he was doing something right in order to better his race. Although he admits saying, “I will give Mr. Freeland the credit of being the best master I ever had, till I became my own master” (2212). According to Broward College 's, Introduction and Background on American Slavery, claims that Douglass believed there was a great necessity for resistance to slavery. One could not solely depend on outside help, but also build the will to resist oneself. This required education about one 's condition in slavery. He felt that these former slaves had a sacred duty to do all they could to help end slavery. Douglass is illustrating that the thought of slavery no longer compelled him and he was determined to …show more content…
As time passed he worked for Mr. Gardner’s ship-yard. Douglass was knowledgeable of how the white workers felt about colored people working and getting paid. The carpenters felt that the coloreds would take advantage and that the poor white men would be thrown out of employment. Douglass states, “He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man" (2220). He understood that the equality of whites and slaves, scared whites. They did not want the idea of abolishing slavery to evolve and change peoples minds about the perception of

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