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Frederick Douglass' Contributions to African-American Society
Term Paper ID:44794
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Students across the country learn about Frederick Douglass a former slave whose harrowing life ...... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Students across the country learn about Frederick Douglass, a former slave whose harrowing life story is told in his eponymous memoir. But beyond learning about the bravery required to escape from the shackles of a Maryland plantation, few understand his influence in the shaping of early African-American culture. This paper will explain how Douglass was instrumental in forging this ethos by his outspokenness against injustice, his concern for socioeconomic equality and his cooperation with sympathetic white leaders.
Paper Introduction:
Frederick Douglass Early Builder of African-American Culture December Students across the country learn about Frederick Douglass a formerslave whose harrowing life story is told in his eponymous memoir Butbeyond learning about the bravery required to escape from the shackles of aMaryland plantation few understand his influence in the shaping of earlyAfrican-American culture This paper will explain how Douglass wasinstrumental in forging this ethos by his outspokenness against injustice his concern for socioeconomic equality and his cooperation with sympatheticwhite leaders Douglass\' story of
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Douglas was started as a slavein Baltimore, where the wife of his owner taught him to read. But he was eventually sold intoharsher conditions under an overseer named Austin Gore, who once shot aslave friend for running away from a cruel beating (Foner 195 12). Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches andWritings. Earlier in his life, when touringthe more openly anti-slavery United Kingdom, he viewed the entire whiteAmerican nation (Constitution included) as "one great falsehood" (Oakes2 7 13). 1968. In conclusion, Frederick Douglass, born into slavery and limitedopportunities, fought for his own freedom and helped recruit his people tofight in the Civil War to end slavery once and for all. The Mind and Heart of Frederick Douglass. Theinsistence he demonstrated during this speech and others like it lit aspark under the fledgling African-American minority to stand up for itselfin such a trying time. Along with HarrietJacobs, Henry Brown, Anthony Burns and other figures, Douglass proved toother slaves that freedom is a necessity and something that must be soughtafter with "the temerity to risk life and limb in the hope of a betterfuture" (Battle & Wells 2 6 82). and Donna Wells. 2 6. The risks it took to flee inspired prideand determination in the black population-necessary characteristics for itsupcoming role in the Civil War, the reconstruction effort and laterassimilation to white society. He urged his fellow African-Americans to take the Constitution and those who served it seriously; hewanted his fellow black men and women to see it as a covenant guaranteeingthem freedom. Yet Douglass did more than just set an example for his fellow slavesto run away from slavery. He encouraged cooperation, even if partners were not outright inline with the political and moral leanings of his dearest beliefs. New York: Walker PublishingCompany.Oakes, James. Blacks could trust politicians--at least from the North. Heinoustreatment was not uncommon. Hiscommitment to seeing blacks through the end of slavery and into acomfortable and respectable place in American society was another way thathe left an indelible mark on early African-American society. Douglass, however inspirational and empathetic, was a practical manand realized that he would have to encourage blacks to team with the powersmost sympathetic to the suffering of his people. 1999. His forward-looking ideas on social justice would inspireAfrican-American leaders a century later during the Civil Rights movementas well. That iswhy he enthused his fellow African-Americans in the North to fight with theUnion army. Douglass' story of escaping bondage to a life of advocacy for hissuffering peers makes him one of America's most visible examples of thedifficulties of antebellum life for blacks. New York: Nortonand Company.Ritchie, Barbara. Like future black leaderswho would be denounced by angry audiences, Douglass spoke over the boos andhisses from the majority working class whites in attendance and even stoodhis ground as they tried to attack him (Kendrick & Kendrick 2 8 66). Douglass was an eloquent and movingspeaker who spoke truth to power on issues of discrimination, racism andclass privilege. In the first sense, Douglass' act of extirpating himself from slaveryset the earliest bar in African-American culture. YetDouglass animatedly implored them to fight for the North (Ritchie 1968 98).He saw Lincoln's Washington-based government as the legitimate heir to theConstitution-a document Douglas revered. The Radical and the Republican. But Douglass had the courage to run away in1838 and years later had his freedom purchased by a group of supporters inthe United Kingdom. Chicago: Lawrence Hill.Kendrick, Paul and Stephen Kendrick. Frederick Douglass: Early Builder of African-American Culture December 1 , 2 9 Students across the country learn about Frederick Douglass, a formerslave whose harrowing life story is told in his eponymous memoir. 2 7. He toured widely in the North to drum up the cause of abolitionism-the universal cause of early African-American society. Often he faced rudeand racist crowds, as he did during an 186 visit to Boston to commemoratethe death of the abolitionist martyr John Brown. Future African-Americans wantingto develop the country's social conscience evolved this tactic intononviolent resistance in the Civil Rights movement. His majorcontributions to early African-American society were his courageousoutspokenness, his heralding of socioeconomic justice for blacks and hisrealization that cooperation with the established order was essential.Douglass' vibrant and heartrending arguments for equality, fairness andhuman rights for the emerging black culture were truly visionary. This was at a time when he favored the more violent John Brownapproach to abolition: rebellion. NewYork: Thomas Y. Legacy: Treasures of BlackHistory. While hisbrand of pragmatism encouraged violent resistance to the Confederacy, thepromotion of patience with governmental authorities was a greatcontribution to African-American society. This paper will explain how Douglass wasinstrumental in forging this ethos by his outspokenness against injustice,his concern for socioeconomic equality and his cooperation with sympatheticwhite leaders. Crowell Company. At the time there was disagreement among the northern blackcommunity on this issue because the Union refused to grant fair conditionsto black soldiers (including equal pay, rations and accommodations). Douglass was consistently concerned not only with ending the vilepractice of slavery-his attention focused on the future as well. Over time, and through his friendshipwith President Abraham Lincoln, his views softened and his legacy hardened.Thus, his support of the Union imbued in the early African-American societya sense of trust in elected leaders and the foundational documents of thenation. While he understood thatslavery unjustly fomented the specter of these atrocities, his wider socialand institutional perspective ensured that black leaders of his time wouldfocus on the needs of newly integrating members of society, a germane topicfor a people still without the economic and social support of the nation ortheir neighbors. Washington: National Geographic.Foner, Phillip S. He crafted the beginnings of African-Americanculture by voicing his opinions. 2 7. His willingness to orate became the impetus for manyblacks to give their honest opinions to whites and slaves and to organizefreed blacks into movements. This middle ground tacticis another example of the way Douglass' philosophy impacted early blackculture. In an 1853letter to the abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, Douglass wrote that itwas more than blind race-based hatred that plagued African-Americans.Poverty, ignorance and degradation were the three most pressing issues forblack Americans, he argued (Foner 195 214). The tactic of practical cooperation was not always one of his favoredmethods for helping African-Americans. Butbeyond learning about the bravery required to escape from the shackles of aMaryland plantation, few understand his influence in the shaping of earlyAfrican-American culture. Like African-American leaders who would followhim, such as Martin Luther King Jr., he bravely said things others fearedto say. Theirimplications for our time still ring true.Battle, Thomas C. He continuedteaching himself by reading newspapers.
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