The Study of Fredrick Douglas - Free Paper Example

Introduction

Born a slave, Fredrick Douglas is a central figure in the African Americans' slavery history. Thus, the selected topic is the role of Fredrick Douglas as a social reformer and slavery abolitionist in American History (Finkenbine, 2000). Addressing this topic offers a chance to revisit the issues around slavery, factors that led to its abolishment, and the establishment of better ways to move forward.

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Fredrick Douglas was born in 1818 in Cordova, Maryland (Finkenbine, 2000). During the period, slavery was something normal practiced by almost all Americans with some affluence, especially the Whites. He grew up against the argument that slaves had no intellectual capacity to think, reason, behave, and act just like any other independent American (Douglass, 2014).

Strengthening

He significantly contributed to strengthening antislavery campaigns, which later led to the 1861-1865 civil war. He wrote several books and autobiographies of slavery (Foner, 2013). His writings, such as My Bondage and My Freedom (1955), became influential in the course of abolishing freedom and promotion of women suffrage (Douglass, 2014).

The examination of this topic is of great importance to the understanding of US history. Slavery and the history of the United States are greatly intertwined and inseparable. Studying the history of Fredrick Douglas is significant to understanding the liberal values of the US constitution and continuing call for a free and fair nation, especially among African Americans.

Conclusion

Civil wars through American history had been subject to numerous social, economic, and political issues, especially between the Northern and Southern States. Most of the reasons that caused such social upheavals were cultural values, economic interests, government divisions and control, and, most importantly, slavery. Numerous individuals contributed to the abolishment of slavery, especially in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Fredrick Douglas is one of the renowned social reformers and antislavery activists during the period. Douglas's life, antislavery efforts, and writings are critical in modeling African-American history and finding better ways to reshape American liberty, freedom, and equality.

References

Douglass, F. (2014). Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War: Selections from His Writings. Courier Corporation.

Early US Literature. (n.d.). Frederick Douglass – Early US literature.
https://earlyuslit.wordpress.com/tag/frederick-douglass/

Finkenbine, R. E. (2000). Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895), abolitionist, civil rights activist, and reform journalist. American National Biography Online.
https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1500186

Foner, E. (2013). Give me liberty! An American history: Seagull (4th ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.

Sadiq, N. (2016). Droppings, adding, and spelling deviations in Georgia Doyle Jhonson's Fredrick Douglas and Loraine Hansberry's (A Rais in the sun). Journal of English and Education, 2(1), 34-44.
https://doi.org/10.20885/jee.vol2.iss1.art4

Thelen, D. (1989). Memory and American history. The Journal of American History, 75(4), 1117. https://doi.org/10.2307/1908632.