Frederick Douglass
"In 1841 Frederick Douglass attended an antislavery convention in Nantucket, Massachusetts; thereafter his role in the abolitionist movement would forever be sealed" (Quarles, 36). The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave was written by Douglass in 1845 to give fuel to the abolitionist movement. Though it was revised many years later and appeared in final form, in 1882 under the title Life and Times of Frederick Douglass the message had already been given. The narrative was written in a way that stunned the souls of the people who read it; whole lives were forever altered by its power. I believe this was Douglass's intention when writing the narrative. Some people would argue that Douglass simply needed to portray the life he had fled from, and that his story was for the lives of slaves everywhere; but when examining Douglass's life after 1841 it is clear that his intentions had to be directed towards his cause, for he made no attempt at hiding the fact that his life was much different at the time of his writing the book from what it was like when he was in slavery. Douglass's name became a symbol for freedom and achievement. His skills as a speaker were amazing for a man of his history.
If anyone wanted to doubt the scars on his back, Frederick would give the world a detailed description of how he got them. They followed him not because he was an incredible orator, but because he was the epitome of what they were trying to accomplish, the freedom and integration of African Americans into an American society dominated by white culture. In this instance though Colonel Lloyd asked the slave to whom he belonged, the slave replied "Colonel Lloyd sir. It wasn't until he was sent to Baltimore that Frederick Douglass developed into the virtuous abolitionist that he is remembered to be today. In fact so impressive were Douglass's oratorical and intellectual abilities that opponents refused to believe he had ever been a slave and alleged that he was an imposter. This was common at the times since many masters owned over a thousand slaves and neither always knew each other by face. " Colonel Lloyd then asked the slave if he was treated well, the slave replied "no sir"; the Colonel then asked if he was worked too hard, the reply was "yes sir. Frederick never knew exactly when he was born because most slaves were never told of their birth date and were not allowed to inquire as such. Often, slaves were whipped and beaten for nothing else but to keep fear in them. Douglass says "It is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master. Throughout his lifetime he "lucked out" by somehow being awarded the easier responsibilities; such as running errands at the Great House. To keep a slave illiterate and ignorant of the socio-political movements of the north; a slaveholder could easily control thousands with very few. Slaveholders knew that knowledge and literacy were the biggest dangers they had toward a rebellion of a people, which in some religions outnumbered their white masters nine to one.
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Acceptance Essays
