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Running head: HISTORY OF SLAVERY 1

HISTORY OF SLAVERY 3

History of Slavery

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History of Slavery

Frederick Douglass recounts his painful experience and struggles to acquire literacy amid slavery in his memoir “Learning to Read and Write” (Frederick, 2003). Slavery had become very prominent in America in the nineteenth century. Slave trade was considered to be the most lucrative business. Black slaves would be captured from their homes in Africa and sailed to America to be auctioned. Men were separated from their spouses and children. They were expected to work in plantations and carry out different household chores depending on their gender, age, and skills. The life history of Douglas unveils issues that are seldom discussed in the history of slavery.

Discussions about the history of slavery do not give a comprehensive overview of child slavery in America. It only narrates about the brutality that adult female and male slaves had to endure while serving their masters in the plantations and homes. They do not highlight on the fate of children born into slavery. Douglass’s childhood memoirs suggest that he lost his mother at a tender age and was condemned into a lifetime of slavery (Frederick, 2003). The history of slavery portray slaves as illiterate individuals who had little interest in education. Conversely, the narrative reveals that Douglass had a keen interest in learning how to read and write and he endured so much suffering and humiliation in his quest for knowledge. According to Douglass, education is a fundamental key to freedom (Raoul, 2018). It suggests that education played a major role in the struggles for the abolition of slavery.

References Frederick, D. (2003). Frederick Douglass: "Learning to read and write.". In 75 thematic readings : an anthology (pp. 69-74). New York: McGraw-Hill. Raoul, A. (2018). Education and freedom in Frederick Douglass's: The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Revue Internationale de Linguistique Appliquee, de Litterature et d' Education, 1-12.