Frederick Douglass, born into slavery in 1818, by no means knew the exact date he was born, however later selected Feb. 14 as his birthdate. We urge all Individuals to think about the concepts, life and legacy of the nice abolitionist, writer and statesman. Douglass’ life is a testomony to the horrors of America’s previous, the significance of liberty and the worth of freedom of thought.
Whereas enslaved, Douglass secretly realized to learn. “Data is the pathway from slavery to freedom,” he later mentioned. On the age of 20, Douglass efficiently escaped to New York. From that time on, Douglass turned a pointy and invaluable critic of the establishment of slavery.
Early on, he agreed with abolitionist contemporaries, reminiscent of William Lloyd Garrison, that the US Structure was at its core a pro-slavery doc and that the US, by extension, was predicated on an evil basis.
However Douglass in the end got here to the conclusion that the US was the truth is predicated on highly effective, liberatory values that prolonged to all individuals.
“The blessings during which you, this present day, rejoice, will not be loved in widespread,” he mentioned in a speech delivered on July 5, 1852, reflecting on the July 4 vacation. However, Douglass argued, the blessings loved by Individuals must be.
“Would you’ve me argue that man is entitled to liberty? That he’s the rightful proprietor of his personal physique?” he requested. “There may be not a person beneath the cover of heaven that doesn’t know that slavery is mistaken for him.”
With the rules within the Structure and Declaration of Independence in thoughts, Douglass defended the Structure from criticism that it was eternally tainted as an anti-liberty doc, arguing that “interpreted because it must be interpreted, the Structure is a wonderful liberty doc.”
In making this case, Douglass pressured Individuals to confront the grotesque discrepancy between the nation’s acknowledged rules and the realities at hand, and thereby contributed enormously to serving to America come nearer to fulfilling its beliefs. “The difficulty by no means was within the Structure, however within the administration of the Structure,” he mentioned in 1872.
Douglass would dedicate his later years to girls’s rights and to extending the rights and protections of the Structure to broader segments of the inhabitants.
From the abolition of slavery to combating racial discrimination to advocating for the precise of ladies to vote, Douglass demonstrated a dedication to particular person liberty and a dedication to partaking with the concepts of these he disagreed with.
Frederick Douglass’ battle for liberty and justice mustn’t ever be forgotten.
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