Fredrick Douglass is one of the iconic figures in American history. Having been at the forefront of the fight to end slavery, he had the opportunity to narrate his ordeal as a slave and his escape from Maryland to the city of New York. Waldo Emerson was, on the other hand, a champion of individualism and the force of "Self-Reliance." Both these individuals guided the way of societal thinking and belief, and their principles on human dimensions of thought led to significant change the society.
In slavery, Fredrick talks about how their masters would rank human beings together with animals, which he describes as brutal, not only to the slave but the slaveholder. We find that Emerson tends to incline towards the same sentiments by explaining how people had inherited a religion that made them cold and impersonal. They viewed it as the source of them being emotionless and people who failed to connect with others. They were, therefore, after a Self-Reliant way of approaching such, which was individualism.
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We also find that both were champions of social justice and mass power being in control of a few individuals in society. Enslaved people like Douglass were fighting both physically and socially for the recognition of all men as equal with rights and liberty. While Emerson may not have encountered slavery head-on, his fight for social justice may not have culminated in a battle for the observation of all human rights. To Douglass, his enslavers were emotionless individuals who only thought of themselves. They used their status in society to rob and discriminate.
Both men exemplify greatness and a great sense of emulation to any person looking into overcoming any challenge. The way they overcame life ordeals indicates that indeed, liberty and freedom from oppressions are priceless.
