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Quick Facts
- NAME: Frederick Douglass
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist
- BIRTH DATE: c. February 1818
- DEATH DATE: February 20, 1895
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Tuckahoe, Maryland
- PLACE OF DEATH: Washington, D.C.
- Originally: Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey
Best Known For
Frederick Douglass, a former slave and eminent human rights leader in the abolition movement, was the first black citizen to hold a high U.S. government rank.
Videos see all videos
Frederick Douglass - Full Episode
Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in 1838 and used his talents as a writer and orator to fight for emancipation. Douglass edited an abolitionist newspaper, recruited black regiments during the Civil War, and advised President Lincoln.
Frederick Douglass - From Slave to Soldier
In 1863, Frederick Douglass enlists as a recruiting officer for an African American regiment in the Civil War. From "Biography: Frederick Douglass."
Frederick Douglass - Meet John Brown
In the 1850s, Frederick Douglass allied with a passionate white Abolitionist named John Brown, who became a powerful symbol to Douglass for the violent overthrow of the slave system.
Frederick Douglass - Impassioned Speaker
After testifying firsthand to the brutality of slavery at an American Anti-Slavery Society meeting in Nantucket, Frederick Douglass became an overnight success in the Abolitionist arena of public speaking.
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Play NowFrederick Douglass. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:32, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324.
Frederick Douglass. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324 [Accessed 23 May 2013].
"Frederick Douglass." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 05:32 http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324.
"Frederick Douglass," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324 [accessed May 23, 2013].
"Frederick Douglass," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324 (accessed May 23, 2013).
Frederick Douglass [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324.
Frederick Douglass, http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324 (last visited May 23, 2013).
Frederick Douglass. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324. Accessed May 23, 2013.
Synopsis
Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. He became one of the most famous intellectuals of his time, advising presidents and lecturing to thousands on a range of causes, including women’s rights and Irish home rule. Among Douglass’ writings are several autobiographies eloquently describing his experiences in slavery and his life after the Civil War.
Contents
Quotes
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. . . . Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them."
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
"No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck."
"People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get."
"I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."
Life in Slavery
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland, around 1818. The exact year and date of Douglass' birth are unknown, though later in life he chose to celebrate it on February 14. Douglass lived with his maternal grandmother, Betty Bailey. At a young age, Douglass was selected in live in the home of the plantation owners, one of whom may have been his father. His mother, an intermittent presence in his life, died when he was around 10.
Frederick Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, the wife of Thomas Auld, following the death of his master. Lucretia sent Frederick to serve her brother-in-law, Hugh Auld, at his Baltimore home. It was at the Auld home that Frederick Douglass first acquired the skills that would vault him to national celebrity. Defying a ban on teaching slaves to read and write, Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia taught Douglass the alphabet when he was around 12. When Hugh Auld forbade his wife’s lessons, Douglass continued to learn from white children and others in the neighborhood.
It was through reading that Douglass’ ideological opposition to slavery began to take shape. He read newspapers avidly, and sought out political writing and literature as much as possible. In later years, Douglass credited The Columbian Orator with clarifying and defining his views on human rights. Douglass shared his newfound knowledge with other enslaved people. Hired out to William Freeland, he taught other slaves on the plantation to read the New Testament at a weekly church service. Interest was so great that in any week, more than 40 slaves would attend lessons. Although Freeland did not interfere with the lessons, other local slave owners were less understanding. Armed with clubs and stones, they dispersed the congregation permanently.
In 1833, Thomas Auld took Douglass back from his son Hugh following a dispute. Thomas Auld sent Douglass to work for Edward Covey, who had a reputation as a "slave-breaker.” Covey’s constant abuse did nearly break the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically. Eventually, however, Douglass fought back, in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography. After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass, Covey never beat him again.
Freedom and Abolitionism
Frederick Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before he succeeded. He was assisted in his final attempt by Anna Murray, a free black woman in Baltimore with whom Douglass had fallen in love. On September 3, 1838, Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland.
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