Proof read/help my paper be better!
Hey guys i would really appreiciate u helping me out with this piece, pick out problems, parts you dont like, it cant really be any long than what it is, i need a good grade on it, and questions ask. crappy reps
Thanks to all.
Frederick Douglass: A Fight Against Slavery
How often do you stand up for what you believe in? Would you devote your whole life for the good of society? Frederick Douglass did all that, and everything in is willpower with the odds against him to stand up for his rights, even in his darkest moments.
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was assumed to be born in 1818, in Easton, Maryland. Douglass did not know how old he was, till later on in life, he said once that he rarely encountered a slave who knew his age. He was separated from his mom when he was very young, then raised by his Grandparents till age six, when his Grandma, left him at a plantation. Even when he was that little, he would never forget the feeling of abandonment, and loneliness.
Only two years later, he was sent to Baltimore, to be a houseboy. The mistress there was teaching him the alphabet, until the master found out, and forbid it. Back then teaching slaves reading or writing wasn’t allowed. After it was forbid, Douglass did whatever he could to learn more. He would give away food to neighborhood boys just for a couple lessons on reading or writing. Not many people would go out there way to learn like he did. Frederick also overhears his master discussing how they keep their power over the slaves by not teaching them how to read or write. This motivates him to keep going.
At age twelve, he buys a popular schoolbook, which helped him to understand how powerful reading and writing can be, and how they can be used for positive change. Three years later, he was sent back east and became a worker on the plantation. The conditions were horrible and this was a tough, but important time in his life. His treatment got worse and worse and he was placed under Edward Covey, his job was to punish the slaves if they did something wrong, so they wouldn’t do it again, and he was brutal. The punishments got worse and worse and at one point, he lost his motivation to learn. He had hit rock bottom. Until, he decided to fight back, Covey was so shocked; he never would whip Douglass again.
Douglass is hired to a somewhat kinder master, where he starts to teach slaves to read and write, and starts to plan an escape. They find his plan, and throw him in jail, and then got sent back to Baltimore, and learned to be a Caulker. He eventually starts earning some money and escapes to New York, where he meets his wife, Anna Murray. They end up living in Massachusetts, where he is a major part of the American Anti-Slavery Society, using the power words to tell his story to people, about the hardships of slavery and what it’s really like. I would assume most people didn’t know what it’s really like, considering African Americans didn’t have much say back then.
Reading this story inspired me, how one man kept his motivation up, being black, not knowing how to read or write, and working in the worst conditions every day, I don’t know if I could do it. I can’t imagine all the doubts he had going through his head all the time. I admire how much willpower he had, and how he never gave up, even when all the odds were against him.
Frederick Douglass once said three things you need to accomplish in life to be successful, “believe in yourself, take advantage of every opportunity, and use the power of the written language to effect positive change for yourself and society.” What would you do to stand up for your rights?
