What Is The Difference Between Emerson And Frederick Douglass Have In Common

Given the opportunity to dine with any two Americans from our studies this semester, my immediate choices are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglass. Notable figures from the nineteenth century, they stand out as men who found strength in the written word. Using their respective writings to such potent effect in challenging a nation in terms of how people thought about freedom, Emerson and Douglass could not have been more disparate in their backgrounds and approaches. Still and somehow, both figures left indelible marks on the nation during and after their lifetimes. The core of their beliefs was the idea that democracy evoked hypocrisy and mistrust. Consider the overlap between the men's lives. Born just over a decade apart, Emerson and Douglass experienced a burgeoning nation from radically different vantages. Emerson, born in Massachusetts, was a Harvard-educated teacher and minister turned poet and philosopher. Douglass, a child of the plantation, was born into slavery and thereby condemned to a life of bondage. As a result, their views of and experiences in American culture and society would greatly influence their works. …show more content…
How does a country so enamored with liberty and freedom remain committed to keeping millions enslaved? Because of the overlap in their lives, though divergent, I contend both men share a similar answer. Douglass would quickly point out the moral and ethical failings of human chattel. Emerson would fume at American individualism, or lack thereof. Emerson would question the American ideal of self-reliance. How could a people committed to self-government and prosperity take an easy way out and rely so heavily on the labor and misfortune of others? Douglass appeals to integrity; Emerson appeals to self-worth. The men's responses speak to their true nature and published