Education the Revolutionist

Education the Revolutionist

It all began with “The White Man’s Burden”. When the English settlers came to the Americas they believed it was their duty as good Christians to educate the heathens of the land. This initial viewing catalyzed an inhumane way of viewing, and the treatment other races for the many years to follow. White Superiority became fact instead of theory. From this fallacy serious wrongdoings were enabled and cast out upon blacks. An understanding of what life what was like to live during antebellum slavery is gained through sources viewed and read in class. Each source used different techniques to portray the characters own unique experience; some medias were more successful than others. All three sources depicted an individual’s story of life as a slave. Together their accounts highlight the importance of education in slavery’s abolishment. Fredrick Douglass, a self-educated former slave, best contributes to our understanding of slavery in his novel because he understood the power of education, and because of his intelligence could see the perspective of both blacks and whites.

Sarah Fitzpatrick both born and raised a slave was uneducated. Her source is unique because it is an interview whereas the other two sources are novels. She provides a different kind of insight than Fredrick Douglass or Solomon. It is the perspective of a slave left in ignorance. Lacking the ability to see beyond the surface level of what was happening Sarah lived contently as a slave. An example of this is when she speaks of letters. Whenever a letter had to be written the master would do it for them because blacks weren’t supposed to know how to read or write. She even mentioned that if a slave did know how to read or write they kept it hidden from the master. The problem being that even though she sees these things happening, she never questions why. This is the white mans tool of ignorance. If Sarah were to begin to question what was happening around her she would begin to question why blacks were treated differently than whites. She lived contently because she had never even thought of the possibility of a life without being a slave. She never questioned anything.

12 Years a Slave is the story of Solomon Northup. Unlike Sarah Fitzpatrick, Solomon had been a free man most of his life. Solomon puts us into the shoes of a cotton picking, plantation-working slave in the state of Louisiana. Since this source is a movie the audience visually sees and hears the story. Because the source is a film, the audience experiences a deeper emotional response, and an understanding of the horrors slaves endured. One particularly

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