Frederick Douglass Essays (Examples)

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Essay
Frederick Douglass the Narrative of
Pages: 8 Words: 2760

"To degrade and stamp out the liberties of a race" signified the "studied purpose" of linking social and civil equality. Douglass concluded that if the Civil Rights Law attempted to promote social equality, so did "the laws and customs of every civilized country in the world," including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule, and the Apostles' Creed. He warned his fellow Americans that if the vile spirit of caste as exemplified in the ignoble Supreme Court decision of 1883 persisted there would be a "black Ireland in America" (Gregory, 1971) .
Evidence of the Republican party's betrayal of blacks encompassed its failure to enforce the letter and spirit of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. It likewise included its failure to pass: an Election Reform Bill (during President Hayes's administration) to eliminate election abuses in the South; the Lodge Force…...

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Works Cited

Pioneer, Lynn. cited in Liberator, 30 May 1845; the North Star, 12 Mar. 1848; Foner, Frederick Douglass, 59-60.

Nichols, Many Thousand Gone; Butterfield, Black Autobiography in America, 11-89;

Blassingame, "I Have Come to Tell You Something About Slavery," Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 1:4.

Frederick Douglass' Paper, 22 July 1853, Ibid., 5:287-88, 286; "The Claims of Our Common Cause," July 1853, Ibid., 2:267

Essay
Frederick Douglass and Precious Jones
Pages: 4 Words: 1403


Although fictional, Precious Jones, speaks to the reader through her story with powerful words. She is living in a different kind of slavery, although slavery itself had been abolished ore than a century ago. She is a slave to the lack of humanity of her own parents and the indifference of those who are supposed to teach and offer her guidance in school. As a child, she has no choice, but to comply. By the time she reaches sixteen years of age, she is pregnant for the second time, after having been impregnated by her own father. Both her parents abuse her in every way possible. What hurts even more than the life she has at home is the way strangers at school deal with her. Her teacher's lack of understanding, their indifference and the cruelty of her peers converge toward a shocking reality: although she is sixteen, a student…...

Essay
Douglass Garrison Frederick Douglass William
Pages: 15 Words: 5314

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 through explication and allegorical demonstration is the inevitability that a man, endowed with the ability to think and propose and aspire, is bound only to torment when the physical conditions of his life are inhospitable to these ends.
And slave owners, Douglass indicated, seemed to know this fact very well, choosing more often than not to wield it as the best defense in keeping slavery afloat as a viable way of life. Particularly, he recalled one memory in which a white…...

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Works Cited:

Douglass, F. (1995) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. New York, New York: Dover

Publications, Inc..

Douglass, F.1. (1950). Letter to William Lloyd Garrison (January 1, 1846). Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. New York: International Publishers.

Douglass, F.2. (1852). The Hypocris y of American Slavery. The History Place. Online at  http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/douglass.htm

Essay
Frederick Douglass Man With a
Pages: 7 Words: 2163


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 was in the summer of 1863 and this meeting "remains one of the pivotal moments in American history: when a former slave could enter the office of the president to discuss significant issues" (Kendrick). In addition, to this, Kendrick notes that even more remarkable than a former slave visiting the President is the fact that Lincoln seemed to "enjoy Douglass's opinions and views, no matter how contrary to his own" (Kendrick). Kendrick also writes that Douglass recalled that Lincoln was…...

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

New

York: Penguin. 1982.

Hively Russell. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 50: Afro-American Writers Before

Essay
Frederick Douglass Was One of
Pages: 5 Words: 1763

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 he changed his name to Douglass when he reached New Bedford (Lampe vii). Douglass confesses that in the past, it was "still dangerous, in Massachusetts, for honest men to tell their names," (Ibid) in the sense that name equaled identity, and it was forbidden for slaves to assume their own.
In his, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American lave," Douglass paints a very vivid picture of slavery. In addition to being historically valuable, his book is an accomplished…...

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Sources

Davis, Charles T. And Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Slave's Narrative. Oxford University Press, 1985.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave. Kessinger Publishing, 2004.

Lampe, Gregory P. Frederick Douglass: Freedom's Voice, 1818-1845. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1998.

Essay
Frederick Douglass An Exceptional Escape From Slavery
Pages: 3 Words: 1102

Frederick Douglass:
An Exceptional Escape from Slavery, an Exceptional Author, Citizen and Man

How did Frederick Douglass' personal experiences illustrate 19th century American race relations? as Douglass' life typical or exceptional? hat was his legacy for future generations of Americans?

Frederick Douglass often presented his life as typical. The narrative structure he applied to his own literary efforts as well as his efforts as a speaker and as a lecturer suggested that his life was normative and comparable to many an American slave's life. Its horrors were used as proof of the evils of slavery and Douglass' lust for freedom was seen as proof of the typical desire to be free that existed in the heart of every man, including every enslaved Black man's. Other slavery narratives of Douglass' day were popular in the literary consumption of much of the North and Douglass' own autobiography made use of many similar narrative and metaphorical…...

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Works Cited

Huggins, Nathan Irvin. Slave and Citizen: The Life of Frederick Douglass. HarperCollins: New York, 1980.

Essay
Frederick Douglass the Role of
Pages: 5 Words: 1523

Douglass in the form of intellectual revolt.
All of these incidents of violence which took place when Frederick Douglass was struggling to become a man free of the bondage of slavery and the inherent dangers that come with it, clearly indicate that the life of a slave during the early to mid-1800's was filled with brutality, murder and death, almost always at the hands of white slave owners and their overseers. According to Wendell Phillips, writing in the second Preface to Douglass' narrative, the injustices carried out against African-American slaves by their white oppressors "is a keen teacher," for it demonstrates "the wretchedness of the slave, not by his hunger and want, not by his lashes and toil, but by the cruel and blighting death which gathers over his soul," meaning that violence against the body pales in comparison to what happens to the human soul when forced to live…...

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Bibliography

Du Bois, W.E.B. Black Reconstruction in America -- 1860-1880. New York: The Free Press,

Jacobs, Harriet. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave/Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Ed. Intro. Kwame Anthony Appiah. New York: Modern

Library, 2004.

Essay
Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of
Pages: 3 Words: 1072

Frederick Douglass: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave was an autobiography crafted by the famous former slave and abolitionist to illustrate the horror of slavery. Over the course of the narrative, Douglass uses a combination of pathos, logos, and ethos to convince the reader of his or her moral obligation to fight against the enslavement of African-Americans. Douglass gives particular attention to the condition of women in relation to slavery, both how slavery deprives black women of the protections they should have as females and how it corrupts the soul of white women with power.

Douglass was born a slave and he makes clear early on that he was aware of the horrors of slavery from an early age. The first incident he details is the following to illustrate this: "I have often been awakened at the…...

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Work Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

14 Dec 2014. Web.

Essay
Frederick Douglass Is One of
Pages: 2 Words: 593

Paul Kendrick notes, "hen 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 him down a path that could only open doors because his message was one of freedom for all. As a result, of their friendship, America was changed for the better. In a sense, they needed each other to forge a path on which the nation could not only travel but prosper.
Obituary:

Frederick Douglass, influential force in the abolitionist movement, will continue to move racial mountain beyond his last breath. Hs deeds and words represent everything we associate with the word freedom.…...

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Penguin Books. 1986.

Paul and Stephen Kendrick. "Lincoln and Douglass." American Heritage. 2009. EBSCO Resource Database. Information Retrieved January 31, 2009.  http://search.ebscohost.com

Essay
Frederick Douglass Inequality of Circumstances
Pages: 2 Words: 740

Through luck and hard work, Douglass was able to gain something of an education, but his experience, like his release from bondage before Emancipation, he stated was hardly the norm. Equality and freedom needed to be extended to all Black Americans.
Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a oman?" chronicles the seemingly endless catalogue of hardships she endured as a female slave, without any self-pity. Although a member of the supposedly weaker sex, and the mother of many children, she was still expected to work hard. As a Black woman, she was forced to work doubly hard against societal racism and prejudice against her gender. She worked as hard as a man but was not rewarded for her labor, monetarily, because she was a slave according to the letter of the law. The efforts of her labor were ignored because supposedly a woman 'couldn't work' due to the fragility of her…...

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slave. 1845.

12 Mar 1007

 http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/07.html 

Truth, Sojourner. "Ain't I a Woman?" 1851. About.com. 12 Mar 2007.  http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/blsojourner_truth_womanspeech.htm

Essay
Frederick Douglass' Narrative on the Life of
Pages: 4 Words: 1198

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 own slaves, as well as free blacks, to the savage and brutal world he grew up in - in an honest way that had never before been seen. Through this narrative, Douglass confronts the ideas of power, family, knowledge, home, violence, and having a sense of self. Douglass also attempts to warn Americans about the dire effects that slavery is going to have on the whole nation - white Americans as well as black.
The power a slave owner has over…...

Essay
Frederick Douglass Was Born Into Slavery in
Pages: 3 Words: 978

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818 in Maryland. His mother, Harriet Baily, worked as a slave in the cornfields of a plantation. Frederick's father was a white man. Because of his mother's long hours, Frederick was sent to live with his grandmother, who lived on a nearby farm and raised Harriet's children until they were old enough to work.
During the years he spent in his grandmother's cabin, Frederick did not think of himself as a slave. He did, however, notice that his grandmother referred to a certain man as the "Old Master" and whenever, she referred to this man it was with fear.

hen Frederick was six years old, his grandmother told him that they were going on a long journey. They arrived at the Lloyd Plantation, where a group of children were playing on the grounds. His grandmother showed him that three of these children were his siblings…...

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative Of The Life & Times Of Frederick Douglass. Lushena Books. 2000.

Essay
Frederick Douglass 1817-1895 Is Most Often Remembered
Pages: 3 Words: 913

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) is most often remembered as being the "most prominent African-American orator, journalist and antislavery leaders of the 19th century." (Encarta) Douglass was himself an escaped slave who campaigned for the abolition of slavery. e published his autobiography in three complete versions, which depicted his life as a slave in the South and a runaway slave in the North. e described what life as a free black was like before the Civil War; throughout his life he fought for equal rights for African-Americans and he held several positions within the government. e was born in 1817 in Talbot County, Maryland to a slave named arriet Bailey and an unknown white man. Because his mother was a slave, he also became a slave.
Separated from his mother at a young age, Douglass was taught how to read by a master's wife. Douglass' life was most influenced by his first book…...

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He fought for an education that he felt he deserved, conjoined with freedom he felt he had earned. He spoke out against slavery through speeches, his newspapers, and through his daily life. Douglass was a man with extraordinary strength, and perseverance despite his rough beginnings. It was those characteristics that established his place in history as a prominent leader of the early civil rights movement, and other reform movements of the 19th century. (Encarta)

Douglass, Frederick," Microsoft ® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001

1997-2000 06 March 2002http://www.encarta.msn.com©

Essay
Frederick Douglass Was an Important
Pages: 2 Words: 587


The time spent at Covey working the fields, exhausted, and without any hope left, marked Douglass to a great extent. More precisely, as it is presented in the book, Douglass started inquiring on the possibility to even commit suicide because of the tremendous unhappiness he was living. At the same time, such sentiments did not only come from an exhausting, unequal, unfair, and inhuman way of living, but rather from a desperation felt when realizing that the power of the slave owners is so big that its exercise can transform a man into a slave.

Another important point to be taken into account is the way in which Covey, after Douglass is recuperated from his escape, was found as a symbolic figure to define the black resistance against the slave trade. More precisely, the fact that in the end Douglass faced up to him may be interpreted as a symbol of…...

Essay
Frederick Douglass and Voltaire Frederick
Pages: 2 Words: 571

This scene illustrates how the boredoms, vices, and needs of life are lessened when we do this. Another scene that represent Voltaire's view of mankind is when Candide realizes that "we must cultivate our garden" (Voltaire 101). As a result of his journey, Candide concludes that mankind stands a better chance of survival in the world without the aid of philosophy or religion. His opinion is that mankind should return to a more simplified way of thinking. Life is a garden and we cultivate our gardens when we make connections with other people. How we relate to others represents the seeds that we plant in our gardens of life. Growth is the result of connecting with others and not the result of our intelligence. In this scene, this notion is simple. Another scene that represents Voltaire's view on mankind can be seen
hile both authors offer instruction on how to…...

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Penguin. 1982.

Voltaire. Candide and other Stories. New York: Signet Classics. 1961.

Q/A
What rhetorical choices does Frederick Douglass use to convince his reader of the psychological trauma that children who were slaves experienced?
Words: 356

One of the reasons that Frederick Douglass was an effective anti-slavery advocate was because he was a powerful speaker and writer who mastered rhetorical tools and was able to use them to convey the realities of slavery to people who had either never experienced or had experienced slavery from the perspective of the slaveholder, rather than the perspective of the slave. 

Douglass uses simile, comparing most slaves’ knowledge of their birthdays to what a horse would know of its birthday.  Given that slaves were often compared to beasts of burden; this may not seem like a rhetorical device....

Q/A
What was the meaning of freedom for enslaved people in the United States on the eve of the Civil War during the antebellum period?
Words: 353

To tackle a three-page essay on the meaning of freedom for enslaved people in the United States, it is very important to keep in mind that there was no single idea of freedom.  The condition of slaves varied tremendously throughout the United States.  Some slaves lived near urban areas and had relatively high amounts of personal autonomy as well as exposure to free people of color, while other slaves were in isolation on plantations and may not ever encounter free people or color or even regularly encounter slaves held captive on other plantations.  In addition, men, women,....

Q/A
How did varying regions and types of women experience changes during this period?
Words: 414

1. The post-Reconstruction era brought about significant changes in women's lives, with the experiences of these changes varying widely depending on regional factors and the intersection of different identities, such as race, class, and ethnicity.

2. Women in the Northeast and Midwest during this period experienced increased opportunities for education, employment, and participation in public life, largely driven by urbanization and industrialization.

3. In the South, women faced more challenges and limitations in their lives, as the region grappled with the legacy of slavery, the rise of Jim Crow laws, and the resistance to social change.

4. African American women in both the....

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