Frederick Douglas said it perfectly when he said, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant." If you think about it, a horse is very much like a slave. It is used to do labor work on a farm or plantation, without the ability to read or write, or speak their mind on what they do or do not want to do. It was the thought back then by slaveholders that slaves should also not posses this right. One might say, "What does reading or writing have to do with anything"? Well, basically, everything.
The main fear of most slave owners is that their slaves will learn to read and write for a few reasons. One reason is because the less they know they better off the owner would be. The slave would then realize he was an equal to his master and question why his master has the right to enslave him.
When Douglas learned to read and write, he looked at everything differently. He saw everything as a citizen and not a slave. But he then envied the illiterate slave because they did not completely understand the terrible condition they were in. Douglas now did however. He wished he had been killed on the plantation so he did not have to carry the role of slave for the rest of his life. Thoughts of running away did cross his mind and he planned it carefully. This involved great risk, but being enslaved for life was enough reason to try it, whether successful or not.
cruelty in which they are treated. They may even write of being the witness to the inhumane acts that were used upon others. If that document would reach certain sources, than slavery could be ended. Frederick Douglas proved this point. He showed what just one man could do with the power of literacy. Would his former slave owner ever have thought that one of his s
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