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¶ … Dr. Martin Luther King's, but Frederick Douglass' influence on the civil rights movement in the United States is just as remarkable. Born a mulatto slave in Maryland, Douglass endured most of the typical trials of slavery during his childhood. Witnessing fellow slaves and family members being beaten by their masters, Douglass resolved to escape and after a few failed attempts, finally managed to secure his freedom with a one-way ticket to New York City in 1838. Over the course of his 77-year life, Frederick Douglass devoted every ounce of his soul to advocating the rights and freedoms of blacks. He successfully fought not just to end slavery but to end segregation, discrimination, and all other forms of racism in America.
When Douglass was about thirteen years old, he first...
Exposed to abolitionist papers like the Liberator, Douglass became increasingly active in black affairs. His finesse as an orator granted him the attention of white abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, and Douglass was soon touring the lecture circuits with prominent abolitionist groups. Now living as a freed man, Douglass realized that abolition was only part of the problem; he still experienced extreme prejudice, even without physical shackles.
His early exposure to the abolition movement was through white leaders like Garrison, who ironically prevented freed blacks like Douglass from speaking on their own political…
Before, during, and after the Civil War, Douglass fought for blacks' rights and freedoms, including suffrage. He even allied himself with feminists and adopted the women's suffrage movement as part of his political agenda. After supporting Lincoln's campaign for presidency, Douglass became a friend and advisor to the president. Douglass encouraged Lincoln to take a more aggressive stance on the issue of slavery during the Civil War.
Lincoln's assassination and Johnson's presidency offered more challenges for Douglass and the outspoken advocates of equal rights for all citizens. During the Reconstruction, Douglass fought alongside the radical Republicans to opposed President Johnson's conservative stance on black rights. A radical Republican congress overrode Johnson's vetoes on several matters, including the Civil Rights Bill of 1866. Douglass was at the forefront of such landmark measures, including the 15th Amendment, granting all men the right to vote.
Although he did not achieve all of his desires, such as universal suffrage including women, Douglass actively helped to change the American perspective on the rights of African-Americans. Douglass was a controversial figure throughout his life, battling prejudice and waves of political opposition. After enduring the personal trials of enslavement, Douglass transformed American politics and set the stage for future civil rights movements.
Stressing the shackles that slavery could latch to a man's mind, Douglass was given insight into the inherent transgression behind the bondage. And his ability to adopt such a perspective, while easy to underestimate from the distance of over a century, is quite remarkable given the overwhelming social constructions designed to deter that sort of thinking amongst his demographic. One of the more effective messages that he conveyed both
Douglass is significant to American history because of his efforts with President Lincoln. Douglass was not simply looking out for his own freedom; he was concerned for the freedom of every slave in America and was determined to do all that he could to help these men experience freedom. Even if this meant talking to the President of the United States. Paul Kendrick notes that Douglass' first meeting with Lincoln
As for Frederick Douglass, he was nothing short of brilliant. His speeches were powerful and his writing was extraordinarily skillful, especially given the fact that he was born a slave and taught himself much of what he knew. His narrative is polished and at times understated, which actually adds power to what he says. Because when a reader goes through the Narrative from the Life of Frederick Douglass that reader
Douglass understands the importance of name which represent an assertion of identity, and identity is freedom: "I subscribe myself" -- I write my self down in letters, I underwrite my identity and my very being, as indeed I have done in and all through the foregoing narrative that has brought me to this place, this moment, this state of being." (Douglas 75 in Davis, Gates 157). This is why
Paul Kendrick notes, "When it counted, Lincoln had effectively collaborated with Douglass's decades-long pursuit of the total and irrevocable destruction of slavery. That an outspoken black abolitionist and a cautious prairie lawyer would ever meet, much less profoundly influence one another and form a partnership, is astounding" (Kendrick). This relationship seems so far-fetched and yet, it happened. Douglass never set out to meet the president but his determination led
Frederick Douglass' "Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass" is a ground-breaking autobiographical tale of Douglass' childhood of slavery, his struggle to escape, and his triumph over stereotypical restraints put upon him because of his color. Douglass uses his narrative to dispel the myths about African-Americans - myths that white slave owners typically circulated to justify their cruel treatment of slaves. He also exposes the white Americans who do not