Letter to His Masterby Frederick Douglass

We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future. – Frederick Douglass

A quick journal . . . Pick one quote(6-8 thoughtful, yet insightful sentences)

The reward of suffering is experience. - Aeschylus

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship. - Louisa May Alcott

I have always fought for ideas -- until I learned that it isn't ideas but grief, struggle, and flashes of vision which enlighten. - Margaret Anderson

Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us-- and those around us -- more effectively. Look for the learning. - Eric Allenbaugh

Who is Frederick Douglass?

19th century abolitionist, speaker, women's rights advocate,

autobiographer, and escaped slave.

Born in 1818, Frederick Douglass was the most

famous African American of the 19th century and has

been called the father of the civil rights movement.

Dressed as a sailor, Frederick Bailey stepped ashore a free man, but he was not

safe until the great abolitionist David Ruggles took him into his home. In 1838,

New York was crawling with slave catchers. Within days, Frederick sent for his fiancée, married, and moved to a safer city. Then he changed his name to Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass was not only self-emancipated, he was self-educated too. As a boy, he started

learning the alphabet on his own, which horrified his master. Reading and writing would make the boy unfit to be a slave. Thus, young Frederick

grasped the importance of learning to read, and he began trading bread with poor white kids for

lessons. He saved money to buy a book about freedom and liberty. He read secretly and learned

how to write and speak well—very well. When William Lloyd Garrison heard Douglass speak, he asked him to lecture for the Anti-Slavery Society.

And so began a new career for Douglass that would last a lifetime.

Douglass spoke against slavery, for women’s rights, and for justice. He lectured across the country and in

Europe. He spoke with presidents and world leaders. He was called one of the

greatest speakers of the century. In addition, Douglass wrote books, articles, and essays that are still read today. And

in 1847 he began publishing his own newspaper—The North Star—which

broadcast his message to thousands of readers. He served as United States

Marshal and Recorder of Deeds for the U.S. government and as Minister-General to the Republic of Haiti.

Douglass continued lecturing and writing up until his death in 1895.

To those who have suffered in slavery I can say I, too, have suffered.

To those who have battled for liberty, brotherhood and citizenship

I can say I, too have battled. - Frederick Douglass

Letter To His MasterAnnotations – As

you read you will need to highlight and write in the margins. How

can you categorize the

different sections? What

was the purpose of what Douglass

had to say?

Be sure you have the entire letter broken

down and each section labeled when you come

to class tomorrow!

Overcoming AdversityWhat sections did you see in the

letter? How did you label them?How has Douglass overcome

adversity?Was it the perfect transition? What

struggles did Douglass have as he let go of his anger? Or, did he just “re-distribute” that anger?

Do you think Douglass is one of many who would be able to rise above? Or, is he unique in his ability to release all the hatred that embraced him?

My Example: Randy PauschWho are some

modern examples of people who

have overcome adversity?

A FEW SNIPPETS FROM RANDY’S BLOG . . .

Feb 15: Six months later .... and still alive & healthy Today is a pretty important day. It was August 15th, 2007, when I was told I likely had "three to six months of good health left."Today is six months from that day. Just to prove I'm still alive,

here I am, holding today's New York Times!

I rode my bike today; the cumulative effects of the chemotherapy are hurting my stamina some, but I bet I can still run a quarter mile faster than most Americans. The doctors weren't wrong; they always said that if the palliative chemo worked, I'd buy more time, but that it was a long shot. And the doctors have done a brilliant job of tweaking my regimen to help my odds. How much longer this will work is hard to

know, but I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left, no matter how many or how few of them I get.

April 18: I only cared about the

first three copies...

Hyperion sent me a nice plaque ... apparently the book we did (for which the credit goes to Jeff

Zaslow), has become a #1 best seller.

Hyperion says they're about to have two

million copies in print, but all I cared about was

the first 3 copies.

May 18th, 2008: A perfect day!Everyone should have a day this perfect in their lives. Carnegie Mellon flew Jai and me up to Pittsburgh to attend graduation. I had

the honor of giving the charge to the graduates at the end of the ceremony. Even the weather cooperated to make it a perfect day with the sun breaking through the rain

clouds as the ceremony started.

July 25th, 2008 Randy died this morning of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the

brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.

If you want to achieve your dreams, you better learn to work and play

well with others…[you have] to live with integrity. I’ve never understood pity and self-pity as

an emotion. We have a finite amount of time. Whether short or long, it doesn’t

matter. Life is to be lived.

Quotes from Randy Pausch

Who in history has overcome adversity? List them . . .

Find a partner and come up with a list of individuals who have overcome diversity. Once you have a name come up and write it on the SMARTBoard!

Did you think of these people . . .

Now what?You will choose 1 person to write a letter from the voice of your historical individual who has overcome adversity. You will follow the blocks of the Douglass sample. Be sure you intertwine bits of historical accuracy and references – you may need to do a tiny bit of research on this! Your final draft must be typed and you must identify the different blocks!

Be creative – think about all that your individual actually

had to overcome.