Story of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The Power of ReadingIn the antebellum plantation South, slaves were forbidden from reading to write. In other words, they were forced to be ignorant and locked in mental darkness. In The Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he writes in detail about his life as a slave on these plantations. After learning the ABCs and learning to spell three- and four-letter words from Mrs. Auld, Frederick Douglass illustrates how he secretly taught himself to read and write using various strategies such as: Learning the letters on wood from Durgin and Bailey's ship. court, taking lessons from the white boys he met in the street, Webster's spelling book and Master Thomas' notebook. Frederick Douglass further illustrates how he ran his Sabbath school, teaching other slaves how to read and write. Learning to read and write gave Frederick Douglass the power to free himself from physical and intellectual slavery. The first step toward reading Frederick Douglass was his kind mistress, Mrs. Auld, who taught him the ABCs. She then helped him learn to spell little words. It was at this time that Frederick Douglass' master, Mr. Auld, realized that his wife was teaching Douglass to read. Mr. Auld refused to allow Mrs. Auld to continue teaching Frederick Douglass, stating that: "If you taught that negro to read, it would not be possible to keep him." This would make him forever unfit to be a slave. It would become forever unmanageable. and of no value to his master” (47). Little did Mr. Auld know, he had just accidentally taught Frederick Douglass an invaluable lesson because Frederick Douglass had overheard this conversation between Mr. and Mrs....... middle of paper...... ng that many slaves learned to read and at least one of his students is now a free man. On September 3, 1838, Frederick Douglass managed to escape a life of physical and intellectual slavery. Although he doesn't say how he escaped, as he believes it would only benefit slave owners, he does mention that he ended up in New York and from there he moved to New York. Bedford with his new wife, Anna. After completing various jobs, Frederick Douglass used his intelligence and past experiences to speak at the anti-slavery convention in Nantucken on August 11, 1841. He moved from learning letters on wood, to using the Webster's spelling book and that of his master Thomas. notebook to write three autobiographies, became secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, marshal and recorder of deeds of the District of Columbia, and United States minister to Haiti.