“ Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now . . . if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. ”
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845). copy citation
| Author | Frederick Douglass |
|---|---|
| Source | Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave |
| Topic | slavery learning oppression |
| Date | 1845 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23/23-h/23-h.htm |
Context
“Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read. To use his own words, further, he said, "If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy." These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought.”
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Meaning and analysis
