Introduction
Background
Most notable leaders or people of historical importance in the period of United States history from exploration to 1877 experienced numerous challenges which impacted their achievements and what type of legacy they left behind. Douglass was born into slavery at a time when slavery in America was a brutal framework, which was not dissimilar to enslavement, medieval traumatic events, and communal techniques of execution such as whipping and beheading (Douglass, 1855). Douglass initially learned to read in enslavement under the tutelage of Sophia Auld, the spouse of slaveholder Hugh Auld. When she halted the sessions on her husband’s commands, Douglass enlisted the assistance of others and taught himself. Therefore, Frederick Douglass was born into enslavement but never embraced his position as a servant and began planning for a life of freedom.
He was aware that enslavers were fearful of education’s value, and he was mindful of the possibility literacy held for him. Douglass recognized the importance of seeking knowledge to achieve freedom, stating that from then, he grasped the course from servitude to freedom (Douglass, 1855). He was sure that disseminating awareness, and the practice of individual rights and an association was critical to abolitionism’s achievement (Douglass, 1855). Frederick Douglass attained some measure of prosperity and was renowned following his escape, but the shadow of his slavery lingered over him. Nevertheless, he took steps toward ultimate liberty.
Discussion
Negative Impact of Slavery on Frederick Douglass
Being born into slavery had a negative impact on how Frederick Douglass perceived the United States, yet he was able to find reasons to hope and consider a better life despite this. Like the majority of enslaved people, Frederick Douglass was mistreated by his master (Klein, 2013). Enslavement is a mental and emotional prison in equal measure. After serving as a slave and a runaway prisoner, Frederick Douglass recognized this. He endured whippings, harassment, and other forms of abuse. Douglass’ owner, Thomas, was a brutal lord, starving and punishing his slaves and preventing them from worshiping, reading, or writing (Karp, 2019). Frederick rarely saw his mother, Harriet Bailey, during his childhood. His mother labored as a farmhand on an adjacent property and had to go more than 12 miles to see her son, whom she had seen only a few times throughout his life.
He characterized her as tall and well-balanced, with a darkish, shiny countenance and traditional elements, who was unusually calm and respectful among the captives. When he was about ten years old, Frederick was entrusted to Anthony’s daughter, Lucretia Auld. Douglass was assigned by her and her husband, Thomas, to assist his brother Hugh in Baltimore, where he acquired knowledge while serving in his owner’s house. In 1833, following a disagreement between Thomas and Hugh, Thomas reclaimed the enslaved laborers (Karp, 2019). The following year, Douglass moved to Thomas’s estate and began construction as a field laborer, where he was franchised to other lords who used victimization to attempt to destroy his indomitable mind.
Tremendous Impact of Introduction of Education
The introduction to education that Frederick Douglass had in Baltimore with his new owners had a tremendous impact on the trajectory of his life. Human exploitation necessitates misinformation, just as a person’s emancipation from repression necessitates education-based enlightenment. Slavery requires uninformed slaves to preserve power and discipline; consequently, making enslaved stupid hinders captives from appreciating the liberating quality of learning and education’s capacity to release people from the shackles of illiteracy (Russell, 2021). Douglass initially learned to read in servitude under the instruction of Sophia Auld, the spouse of plantation owner Hugh Auld (Russell, 2021). When she halted the classes on her partner’s commands, Douglass enlisted the assistance of others and taught himself.
He was aware that enslavers were fearful of education perspective and were concerned about the potential knowledge it contained for him. In his piece, How I Learned to Read and Write, Frederick Douglass explains how his quest for schooling enabled him to uncover oppression’s terrible, hidden meanings (Russell, 2021). Thus, education fosters a yearning for liberty and a desire to develop resolve and determination. Learning is inextricably linked to the ability to both liberate and imprison a person. Furthermore, training liberates a person from the deceptive happiness of cluelessness, leading to the current capacity for critical thinking and comprehension.
Nonetheless, illiteracy does not necessitate the same effort as education. Additionally, literacy opened Douglass’ mind to the possibility of his wrong as a servant, prompting him to act, as he relates, “In times of misery, I admired my fellow-slaves for their folly” (Russell, 2021, p. 33). While Douglass endured grief due to education, he benefited from his schooling and could not identify with his comrades. The other enslaved people could maintain their present state of being because it was all they had ever known. Douglass knew better and yearned for the prohibited life of a free man as it transformed from an unreachable fantasy to reality.
Escape from Slavery
When the abuse became too great for Frederick Douglass, he formulated a plan for his escape. When the first plan failed, he changed his approach and devised a successful second plan. Despite their fear, no one hesitated in their resolve to the getaway. Douglass weighed the operation’s effectiveness or failure on his shoulders in his first failed escape considering he devised that strategy. The repercussion of the attempted escape was that Frederick was assigned to a property where a “servitude breaker” was on the prowl for him (Bonner, 2018). He was thrashed daily and barely fed, and his spirit was crushed during a brutal punishment. At that point, Frederick vowed that this was the final terrible thrashing he would take without retaliating, and the next time he did, he would reclaim his spirit (Bonner, 2018). In addition, he was verbally harassed and physically assaulted when he refused to work.
Frederick Douglass attained a tipping point and commenced plotting his emancipation from captivity. By 1835, Douglass had resolved to pursue independence once more. He felt compelled to do so as he neared manhood (Bonner, 2018). His companions desired to join him in the undercover operation, but they were all cognizant of the enormous difficulties they faced. Douglass had been imprisoned, transferred to Baltimore by his owner, and contracted to labor in the city’s shipbuilding two years before when a colleague foiled his effort to evade slavery (Bonner, 2018). Despite the danger, Douglass was emboldened and determined to attempt another escape on September 3, 1838. “I was confident that if I faltered, my cause would be doomed,” he said in his memoirs (Barnes, 2017, p. 86). The plan called for acquiring a canoe from Freeland’s father-in-law and canoeing straight ahead of the Chesapeake Bay.
Frederick’s second try was a standalone endeavor, although he enlisted the assistance of his future spouse and a comrade who was a fisherman and drew on expertise gained while operating around sailboats. Frederick Douglass’ subsequent breakout was fortunate, but he was never fully free; notwithstanding his identity change and geographic move, he remained a runaway slave and lived in fear. Enslavers in packs patrolled the streets of New York in pursuit of fugitives. David Ruggles, an anti-slavery campaigner, harbored Douglass until his prospective bride, Anna Murray, a free African American housekeeper from Baltimore, arrived.
Life as a Free Man
After his escape and relocation, while he was free from slavery, Frederick knew he was not truly free and was concerned that a high profile would make it easy for his former owner to locate him. Thus, Douglass proliferated actively with revolutionary organizations with the same newfound standing in society. He was scheduled to participate at a Massachusetts Abolitionism Association conference in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1841 (Karp, 2019). His inspirational and moving orator abilities were so highly welcomed that he was requested to accept the invitation as an advocate.
In 1843, Douglass took part in the American Anti-Slavery Humanity’s Hundred Assemblies initiative, a six-month tour of conference rooms throughout the Midwest. As a result, Douglass composed his memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He recounted his experiences with a solid ethical tone critical of the miseries of oppression (Karp, 2019). The publication was an immediate sensation, gaining widespread popularity in the United States and Europe (Karp, 2019). Douglass, however, lacked constitutional immunity as a runaway slave if his previous enslaver attempted to capture him as his merchandise. As a result, Douglass spent two years in England, during which his followers compensated his master for his independence against his will.
Importance and Impact of becoming a Free Man
Frederick Douglass’ freedom from slavery provided him the opportunity to contribute to society in a way that no one else of his time could have. He leveraged his celebrity to bring about change in many injustices perpetrated against various marginalized groups. Frederick Douglass spent the entirety of his life as a free man fighting for the following causes: Frederick helped enslaved people get to freedom via the Underground Railroad (Douglass, 2007). The Underground Railroad was a circle of black and white individuals who provided sanctuary and assistance to exploited people fleeing the South. It evolved as a result of the merging of multiple distinct clandestine operations. Douglass became an agent with the American Anti-Slavery Organization in 1841 (Douglass, 2007). His mission was to travel, offer talks, distribute leaflets, and increase revolutionary subscriptions.
Douglass campaigned diligently for African Americans’ freedom and legal residency following his escape. Douglass created The North Star in December 1847, following the collapse of initial African American publications (Douglass, 2007). Douglass advised presidents where Abraham Lincoln described him as the 19th century’s most deserving man (Douglass, 2007). Douglass was nominated to various positions in his final years. He was the District of Columbia’s United States Marshal during the Rutherford B (Douglass, 2007). Douglass battled against employment prejudice and racial discrimination on commuter transportation from his base in Rochester, and he advocated for women’s rights (Douglass, 2007). Frederick was a delegate to the seminal women’s rights assembly in Seneca Falls, New York, where he approved the Declaration of Sentiments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Frederick Douglass was born into slavery and never accepted that being a slave was his permanent station in life, and he began to plan for a life of freedom. Frederick Douglass was a rare instance of an enslaved person becoming educated and understanding that there was a possibility of achieving greatness. Once he became a free man, he used his good fortune to help correct other injustices in the country and became one of the first human rights advocates.
References
Barnes, L. D. (2017). The Lives of Frederick Douglass. Journal of American Ethnic History, 36(4), 85-87. Web.
Bonner, C. J. (2018). Dismantling Slavery: Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Formation of the Abolitionist Discourse, 1841–1851 by Nilgün Anadolu-Okur. Journal of Southern History, 84(1), 152-153. Web.
Douglass, F. (1855). My Bondage and My Freedom. (Lit2Go ed.). Web.
Douglass, F. (2007). In C. Brennan, K. J. Edgar, J. Galens, & R. Matuz (Eds.), American Social Reform Movements Reference Library (Vol. 4, pp. 23-37). UXL. Web.
Karp, M. (2019). The People’s Revolution of 1856. Journal of the Civil War Era, 9(4), 524-545. Web.
Klein, C. (2013). How Frederick Douglass Escaped Slavery. History. Web.
Russell, S. (2021). How a slave was made a woman: Dombey and son and narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. Dickens Quarterly, 38(1), 29-53. Web.