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Similarities Between Franklin And Frederick Douglass

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Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass are two men that are very different, but have many similarities. When we hear these names, we think about two people who did great things. Both men made something out of their lives when they had nothing. Franklin is well known for being one of the Founding Fathers of The United States of America. He is also well known for being an inventor, civic activist, scientist, writer, and a diplomat. Douglass on the other hand, was a born slave that later in his life became an abolitionist, social reformer, writer, and a politician. These two men show what the real American values are. Individualism, self-reliance, and the love of liberty are a few American values that the two showed. In Franklins Autobiography …show more content…

Franklin and Douglass both showed these values because they were determined to make a change in their lives and in the world. They both had obstacles to go through to get to where they did in their lives. At twelve years of age, Franklin worked in his brother James’s print shop. Franklin explained how when everyone would be on their break, he would go and read books. He would read any type of book, as long as he could learn something. Since he didn’t go to school, this is how he learned everything. His self-reliance and individualism is the reason he could do this. In 1826, when Douglass was maybe ten years old, he moved to Baltimore to work for Hugh and his wife Sophia. In their home, he was no longer treated like a slave. Sophia taught Douglass how to read, but when Hugh found out he made it clear that Douglass was not to be taught how to read and write. This did not stop Douglass though; he would bribe the white kids to teach him and he eventually did. Douglass wrote about how he would read and write every chance he got. These two men held their values of individualism and self-reliance by describing what they went through. Both Franklin and Douglass are similar when it came to their determination to learn and get things done; they were both self-made

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