Question

Fedrick Douglass summary

Answer 1

Douglass begins his memoir by explaining that he has few memories of his childhood. His mother died when he was seven, and throughout his life, he wasn't even sure of his birth date. He has vague recollections of his mother visiting him at bed time, but he doesn't remember what she was like even as a person. Take a moment to imagine the heartbreak that you would feel if you suddenly couldn't remember your own mother: this was obviously a very formative experience for the young Douglass.

Douglass also suspected that his father was white, perhaps even his master. As a child, he witnessed his Aunt Hester being whipped. Douglass also recounted the horrific abuse to which all the slaves were subject. He observed that fear likely accounted for most of the slaves' compliance since slaves often confessed to crimes that they did not commit, in order to avoid punishment. This wasn't a value judgment against the slaves, by any means: Douglass made it clear that it was a matter of self-preservation, which was all they had.

Answer 2

Fredrick Douglass gave this famous speech before the Civil Wars. His speech was about the Hippocratic nature that the Americans have been facing and practicing simultaneously. As he moves on with the speech he becomes angrier. He wants slavery to be abolished through any means. He speaks about the celebration of 4th July which was to be celebrated as the day of freedom. It is very disappointing for him to see that the people are celebrating the freedom of a nation which has been build on the surface of slavery. In his speech, he mentions about his own people who do not associate themselves with the slaves rather they identify themselves with the whites. Douglass fought for equal rights given to the Blacks to vote. He also wanted equal rights for women including the White women to vote and wanted fair public education granted to everyone. The central claim of "What the Black Man Wants" is that in a country that was built on the idea of freedom, everyone should have equal rights.

Fredrick Douglass wrote his own account of life in which he mentioned about the ills of slavery and about the hardships which the slaves had to undergo. He had tried to expose the cruelty of slavery which doesn't spare anyone born in a black family. He points out the idea that a slave is a form of property owned by the master and he possesses full control over him.