In using testimonies, such as the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave,” a historian would have advantages, as well as disadvantages. The advantages one would have in using such information as this is that they are getting a real life account of what this child went through. He goes into great detail about the treatment he received at the hands of his mas

There are many advantages and disadvantages a historian faces when using sources that are from the child’s point of view. The main advantage I believe would be that children haven’t yet been corrupted by reality so they just say what is real, and what they see. They have no biased opinion yet. A disadvantage to these sources could be that children are sheltered and may not realize how bad things really are. Therefore their testimonies could reflect a different state of mind then that an adult may have. Another disadvantage to this is that children tend to fabricate, and exaggerate. Their thought process and their views are different then that of an adolescent or adult, thus making their testimonies inconsistent.

ter, his living conditions and interactions he had with other children. He even describes that his “feet have been so cracked with the frost, that the pen with which I am writing might be laid in the gashes.” This is great information when researching the childhood of slaves. A disadvantage one may come across when using such a testimony is that

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