Frederick Douglass Biography Assignment

Frederick Douglass Biography

Journalist, Civil Rights Activist, Author, Government Official(c. 1818–1895)

Famed 19th-century author and orator Frederick Douglass was an eminent human rights leader in the

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anti-slavery movement and the first African-American citizen to hold a high U.S. government rank.

Who Was Frederick Douglass?

Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was born into slavery sometime around 1818 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.

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Among Douglass’ writings are several autobiographies eloquently describing his experiences in slavery and his life

after the Civil War, including the well-known work Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

He died on February 20, 1895.

'Narrative ofthe Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave'

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, Frederick Douglass joined a black church and regularly attended abolitionist

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meetings. He also subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal The Liberator.

At the urging of Garrison, Douglass wrote and published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick

Douglass, an American Slave, in 1845. The book was a best-seller in the United States and was translated into

several European languages.

Although the work garnered Douglass many fans, some critics expressed doubt that a former slave with no formal

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education could have produced such elegant prose.

When and Where Was Frederick Douglass Born?

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.

Learning to Read and Write

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Defying a ban on teaching slaves to read and write, Baltimore slaveholder Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia taught

Frederick Douglass the alphabet when he was around 12. When Auld forbade his wife to offer more 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

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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

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interfere with the lessons, other local slave owners were less understanding. Armed with clubs and stones, they

dispersed the congregation permanently.

With Douglass moving between the Aulds, he was later made to work for Edward Covey, who had a reputation as

a "slave-breaker.” Covey’s constant abuse nearly broke the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically. Eventually,

however, Douglass fought back, in a scene rendered powerfully in his first autobiography.

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After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass, Covey never beat him again. Douglass tried to escape from

slavery twice before he succeeded.

Frederick Douglass’ Wife and Kids

Frederick Douglass married Anna Murray, a free black woman, on September 15, 1838. Douglass had fallen in

love with Murray, who assisted him in his final attempt to escape slavery in Baltimore.

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On September 3, 1838, Douglass boarded a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland. Murray had provided him with

some of her savings and a sailor's uniform. He carried identification papers obtained from a free black seaman.

Douglass made his way to the safe house of abolitionist David Ruggles in New York in less than 24 hours.

Once he had arrived, Douglass sent for Murray to meet him in New York, where they married and adopted the

name of Johnson to disguise Douglass’ identity. Anna and Frederick then settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts,

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which had a thriving free black community. There they adopted Douglass as their married name.

Frederick and Anna Douglass had five children together: Rosetta, Lewis Henry, Frederick Jr., Charles Redmond

and Annie, who died at the age of 10. Charles and Rosetta assisted their father in the production of his newspaper

The North Star. Anna remained a loyal supporter of Frederick's public work, despite marital strife caused by his

relationships with several other women.

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After Anna’s death, Douglass married Helen Pitts, a white feminist from Honeoye, New York. Pitts was the

daughter of Gideon Pitts Jr., an abolitionist colleague. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Pitts worked on a

radical feminist publication and shared many of Douglass’ moral principles.

Their marriage caused considerable controversy, since Pitts was white and nearly 20 years younger than

Douglass. Douglass’ children were especially displeased with the relationship. Douglass and Pitts remained

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married until his death 11 years later.

Abolitionist

After settling as a free man with his wife Anna in New Bedford in 1838, Frederick Douglass was eventually asked

to tell his story at abolitionist meetings, and he became a regular anti-slavery lecturer.

Founder of The Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison, was impressed with Douglass’ strength and rhetorical skill, and

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wrote of him in his newspaper. Several days after the story ran, Douglass delivered his first speech at the

Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket.

Crowds were not always hospitable to Douglass. While participating in an 1843 lecture tour through the

Midwest, Douglass was chased and beaten by an angry mob before being rescued by a local Quaker family.

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Following the publication of his first autobiography in 1845, Douglass traveled overseas to evade recapture. He

set sail for Liverpool on August 16, 1845, and eventually arrived in Ireland as the Potato Famine was beginning.

He remained in Ireland and Britain for two years, speaking to large crowds on the evils of slavery.

During this time, Douglass’ British supporters gathered funds to purchase his legal freedom. In 1847, the famed

writer and orator returned to the United States a free man.

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Upon his return, Douglass produced some abolitionist newspapers: The North Star, Frederick Douglass Weekly,

Frederick Douglass' Paper, Douglass' Monthly and New National Era. The motto of The North Star was "Right is of

no Sex – Truth is of no Color – God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren."

Women’s Rights

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In addition to abolition, Douglass became an outspoken supporter of women’s rights. In 1848, he was the only

African American to attend the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

asked the assembly to pass a resolution stating the goal of women's suffrage. Many attendees opposed the idea.

Douglass stood and spoke eloquently in favor, arguing that he could not accept the right to vote as a black man if

women could not also claim that right. The resolution passed. Yet Douglass would later come into conflict with

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women’s rights activists for supporting the Fifteenth Amendment, which banned suffrage discrimination based on

race while upholding sex-based restrictions.

Civil War and Reconstruction

By the time of the Civil War, Douglass was one of the most famous black men in the country. He used his status to

influence the role of African Americans in the war and their status in the country. In 1863, Douglass conferred

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with President Abraham Lincoln regarding the treatment of black soldiers, and later with President Andrew

Johnson on the subject of black suffrage.

President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, declared the freedom of all

slaves in Confederate territory. Despite this victory, Douglass supported John C. Frémont over Lincoln in the

1864 election, citing his disappointment that Lincoln did not publicly endorse suffrage for black freedmen.

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Slavery everywhere in the United States was subsequently outlawed by the ratification of the Thirteenth

Amendment to the Constitution.

Douglass was appointed to several political positions following the war. He served as president of the Freedman's

Savings Bank and as chargé d'affaires for the Dominican Republic.

After two years, he resigned from his ambassadorship over objections to the particulars of U.S. government

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policy. He was later appointed minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti, a post he held

between 1889 and 1891.

In 1877, Douglass visited one of his former owners, Thomas Auld. Douglass had met with Auld's daughter,

Amanda Auld Sears, years before. The visit held personal significance for Douglass, although some criticized him

for the reconciliation.

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Vice Presidential Candidate

Douglass became the first African American nominated for vice president of the United States as Victoria

Woodhull's running mate on the Equal Rights Party ticket in 1872.

Nominated without his knowledge or consent, Douglass never campaigned. Nonetheless, his nomination marked

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the first time that an African American appeared on a presidential ballot.

When Did Frederick Douglass Die?

Frederick Douglass died on February 20, 1895 of a massive heart attack or stroke shortly after returning from a

meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in

Rochester, New York.