Frederick Douglass was born a slave on February 14th, 1818 in the state of Maryland. He was separated from his mother Harriet Bailey as a very small child. Although his father was white, he was considered black and sent to live and work on various plantations throughout Maryland.
SLAVERY IN AMERICA:
Before the U.S. Civil War ended slavery, life for African Americans was one of sadness and misery. It's a shameful time in American history when it was legal for one man to own another. Many determined men and women both black and white fought for the end of slavery with all their will and effort.
In the year 1838 at the age of 20, Frederick escaped to freedom. He ended up in Massachusetts where he became involved with anti-slavery organizations, and by 1843 be began lecturing across the United States at anti-slavery rallies in the eastern and mid-western states.
DOUGLASS TAKES HIS CAUSE TO EUROPE:
In 1845 Frederick Douglass took his message of freedom and equality to Europe to gain political support for ending slavery in the U.S. and for the next two years be was a popular speaker in England and Ireland.
He was so popular that several important English citizens pooled their money and legally bought his freedom from the white slave owner who he has escaped from seven years earlier so that upon his return to the U.S. he would officially be a legally free man.
Upon his return to the U.S. he continued his work against slavery and continued to support women’s rights. He started a series of newspapers and spoke out against segregation (the separation of whites and blacks). Frederick believed education was the main key to helping black American’s improve their lives and help end slavery.
THE U.S. CIVIL WAR:
By the start of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass was one of the most famous black men in the country and lectured and wrote anti-slavery articles across the nation. After Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves, he continued to strive for equality and justice for black Americans.
In 1865 Frederick Douglass attended the memorial services for the slain president of the United States Abraham Lincoln, who had been shot by an assassin. He was asked to speak at the ceremony. This was one of many milestones for Douglass. The fact that a black man had spoken and given a tribute to the fallen U.S. President was groundbreaking.
After the Civil War Frederick’s popularity continued to grow and he became involved in politics and was appointed to some very prestigious posts including consul-general to the Republic of Haiti and in 1868 he supported the presidential campaign of Ulysses S. Grant who later passed laws against the Ku Klux Klan.
GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENTS:
After the Civil War Frederick’s popularity continued to grow and he became involved in politics and was appointed to some very prestigious posts including consul-general to the Republic of Haiti and in 1868 he supported the presidential campaign of Ulysses S. Grant who later passed laws against the Ku Klux Klan.
Frederick continued on the lecture circuit speaking at colleges around the country but even though some progress was made legally, separatism and white supremacy continued to blossom in the deep south and organization like the Ku Klux Klan, White League, and the Red Shirts continued to flourish.
In 1872 he passed another historical marker when he became the first African American to be nominated for Vice President of the United States on the same ticket as Victoria Woodhull, who was the first woman to run for president and sixteen years later became the first black man to receive a vote for President of the United States at the 1888 Republican National Convention.
For the next ten years Frederick continued to strive for change and raise his children and was active in politics and began writing books about his life and the evils of slavery. He produced another first by being the first black man to be a best selling author writing biographic books about his experiences as a slave.
ONE MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
He earned fame as a lecturer, author, humanitarian, and was committed to ending slavery and racism in America. In his lifetime he saw massive changes in American society. Changes that were slow in coming and met with resistance all along the long hard road he traveled.
Frederick proved that one man can make a difference. If he had not be there to educate and inspire others I believe that the changes that were taking place in America would have been slower in coming and thousands of black Americans would have suffered for many more years and would have had to endure the life of slavery and persecution for many more decades.
On February 20th 1895 Frederick Douglass was struck down by a heart attack and died at the age of seventy-seven. Frederick had been born into the bondages of slavery. He had escaped the life of servitude and become an internationally known supporter of equality among all men.
For more information visit FREDERICK DOUGLASS.ORG
Also visit HISTORY.ROCHESTER.EDU
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