Roethlein 1

Dan Roethlein

Ms. Burke

English 11

12/18/17

Frederick Douglas Persuasive Essay

Over 180,000 African Americans men served in the civil war, (History.com). Many of

those men were former slaves from the confederate states. All of those men were fighting for one

cause, freedom. Frederick Douglas was a slave who was the son of an African American woman

and a white slaveholder. He worked for many masters at his young age and learned to read and

write along the way. He escaped at a young age and became a leader for African Americans.

Frederick Douglas’ quote, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress,” is supported by

Frederick Douglas’ fight with prejudice, illiteracy, and the United States’ struggle through 9/11.

One of the greatest struggles Frederick Douglas experienced was prejudice. Frederick

Douglas was an African American slave. He endured a lot of verbal and mental abuse because of

the racism he faced every day. This battle with prejudice helped Frederick Douglas learn to stand

up for himself and fight back against racism. For example, Frederick Douglas wrote, “ I did not

hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must

also succeed in killing me,” (Douglas 82-83). Douglas also wrote, “ I, of course, kept the vow I

made after the fight with Mr. Covey, and struck back again, regardless of consequences,”

(Douglas 102). These quotes support the fact that Frederick Douglas would learn to defend

himself against his masters and hurt them back. This epiphany he had gave him more hope and

courage to fight for his freedom.

 Roethlein 2

Another struggle that Frederick Douglas had to overcome was illiteracy. In order to gain

his freedom, Frederick Douglas needed to become smarter. The best way to do that is to read.

Frederick Douglas wrote, “This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in

return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge,” (Douglas 53). In this quote,

Frederick Douglas learned to read by bribing poor, white children with bread to teach him. He

not only used these children to read, he tricked them into teaching him to write. Frederick

Douglas wrote, “I would then make the letters which I had been so fortunate as to learn, and ask

him to beat that,” (Douglas 57). In this quote, Frederick Douglas said he challenged the children

to write more letters than him. Even though he would lose, he would learn more letters of the

alphabet.

Frederick Douglas’ quote does not just apply to himself. For example, after the United

States had overcame the disasters of September 11, 2001, it became a more secure and safe

place. Matthew Green wrote, “it wasn’t unusual to show up at the airport a half-hour before a

domestic flight, keep your shoes tied tight, and skip through the metal detector while sipping a

Big Gulp, all without ever having to show an ID,” (Green 3). Before 9/11, airports did not have

metal detectors. You did not even have to show any form of identification if you were flying to

somewhere within the country. Terrorists could easily smuggle weapons onto a plane, which is

exactly what happened. After 9/11, the Transportation Security Administration was created and

manages every screening in commercial airport checkpoints in the country. Their mission is to,

“protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and

commerce,” (tsa.gov).

In conclusion, there is no progress without struggle because Frederick Douglas’ fight

with prejudice, illiteracy, and the United States’ recovery from 9/11 all support this statement.
 Roethlein 3

Frederick Douglas fought back against racism, literally. He learned to read and write to gain the

knowledge he needed to escape slavery. The United States experienced the tragedy of September

11, 2001 and became safer because of it. The next time you are struggling with a challenge,

remember that you will only improve from the experience.

 Roethlein 4

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick, et al. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas: an American Slave. New

American Library, 2014.

Green, Matthew. “How 9/11 Changed America: Four Major Lasting Impacts (with Lesson

Plan).” The Lowdown, 8 Sept. 2017, ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2017/09/08/13-years-later-

four-major-lasting-impacts-of-911/.

History.com Staff. “Black Civil War Soldiers.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010,

www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/black-civil-war-soldiers.

“Mission.” Transportation Security Administration, 9 Dec. 2016, www.tsa.gov/about/tsa-

mission.