African-American Slavery Are Recognized As Term Paper

Very few individuals could possibly understand what it was like to be denied fundamental rights or dignities, such as knowing the name of your father, the love of your mother or even the date of your birth, unless you have lived it, like Douglass did and partly Truth as well. (Douglass) (Truth) This seemingly simple information and expression of love are things most everyone in the world takes for granted, as a universal right, and yet many slaves were denied such information, as a manner of control, though not quite as strong as that of the permanent "mental darkness" of illiteracy. (Douglass) in some ways the legal situation of women was similar to that of slaves, as they had no rights to their property or their children, unless granted by their husband or their father.

The struggle for natural human rights demonstrates the proof that they exist. Natural human rights include so many that we take for granted, such as those mentioned above, but also include the freedom to learn and the freedom to live a life one chooses for ones self, as long as they do as little harm to others as possible in the living of such a life. Douglass and Truth exemplify this, and both surpassed all odds to help secure such rights for others including women.These basic rights continue to be a topic for discussion because they are often infringed upon in a world of so many people, many of whom continue to have ambitions that hold others down. The issue of slavery is not dead, as many know from seeing the level of human trafficking that still takes place today.

Works Cited

Douglass, Fredrick. 1845, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass at http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/07.html

Truth, Sojourner. 1850, the Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850) dictated by Sojourner Truth (ca.1797-1883); edited by Olive Gilbert. At http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850.html.....