In the past, oppression has been a part of human relationships, from the treatment of brothers to the enslavement of an entire race of people, to everything what is in between. This is demonstrated empirically through the non-fictional autobiographies of two men; Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass both talk about the oppression of their time, due to different factors. These two people had a pretty interesting perspective on the tragic institution of oppression, Frederick Douglass was a former slave who escaped to freedom, and Benjamin Franklin was a young white man from a mildly abusive family who struggled and ultimately made it done alone. . So, by comparing and contrasting these two great figures of American thought and reason, I will discuss oppression throughout America's history. So despite the differences in the two men's home lives, their obvious racial differences, and the real-life lack of education that both of these men suffered from, each of them suffered from oppression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, I will talk about the family lives of the two men, starting with Frederick Douglass, then moving on to Benjamin Franklin. Frederick Douglass' family life was quite upset, he didn't even know his own age, I have no precise knowledge of my age, having never seen any authentic document containing it. (21) . This is a sign of oppression, as they used the lack of knowledge to keep the slaves under control and make their history uncertain, giving the farm where they worked the only sense of home they would ever know. Although Benjamin Franklin knew his age, his brother physically abused him, because the blows of his passion too often drove him to give himself to me (86). This brings up the theme of brothers, something Douglass was quite certain he had, being a half-breed in the world of slaves and whites, although he was never truly certain, the opinion was also whispered that my master was my father but of the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means to know him were denied to me. (21) , and since his Master had children, it was quite possible that he had, in fact, brothers. These are both forms of oppression, as physical abuse would make you afraid to express your opinions, which is a form of oppression. Whereas, having information about the nature of your siblings limits your freedom by preventing you from fully knowing who your parents were and being forced to live in ignorance of your true roots. So, now that we have looked at their family lives and the oppression prevalent in them, I will move on to racial differences and how each contributed their own type of oppression. The oppression factor, which I will talk about now, is one of race. Most people don't consider being a white man during the colonial period oppressive, but I'm pretty sure Benjamin Franklin thought so, a thought I thought, as I certainly did, in a very embarrassing and ridiculous way. (91), this is evidence that white men had to have a certain type of figure, look a certain way, and conform to society to be accepted. This is a form of oppression, as it limits the ability to be oneself, which is one of the worst forms of oppression in the history of humanity. Next, we look at Douglass, a mulatto slave whose father was most likely his master, this in itself took his oppressions outside of those.