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Birth
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey is born to a white man, Aaron Anthongy, and a slave mother, Harriet Bailey in Tuckahoe, Talbot County, Maryland as a slave. -
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The Story of Frederick Douglass
Through his successes and failures, Frederick Douglass exemplies a true and brave hero. -
Childhood
Frederick Bailey is raised by his grandmother, Betsey Bailey, at Holme Hill Farm from 1819-1823. -
Childhood
Frederick Bailey is raised by his grandmother, Betsey Bailey, at Holme Hill Farm from 1819-1823. -
First Homes as a Slave
Frederick’s mother dies. Frederick is sent to Baltimore to live with Hugh and Sophia Auld as a slave. Later, he becomes property of Thomas Auld, the son-in-law of Aaron Anthony. Aaron Anthony passes away near the end of the year. Thomas Auld sends Frederick back to Hugh Auld in Baltimore. -
Reading and Writing Skills
Sophia Auld teaches Frederick how to read, until Hugh Auld discovers their secret and forbids them. Hugh Auld believed education would make him disobedient. -
Secretly Learning Reading/Writing
Frederick practices reading and writing secretly from 1829-1830. -
Secretly Learning Reading/Writing
Frederick practices reading and writing secretly from 1829-1830. -
Abolitionist Movement
Frederick learns about the Abolitionist Movement through a newspaper about John Quincy Adam’s antislavery petition in Congress. He continues to practice his reading/writing skills when he buys an assortment of different anti-slavery speeches. -
Educating Slaves
Frederick starts working for Thomas Auld again in St. Michaels, Maryland. He teaches other slaves how to read/write until Thomas Auld becomes aware of this and stops it. -
"Slave-Breaker"
Frederick gets sent to a farmer, Edward Covey. He is known as the “slave-breaker.” Covey beats Frederick several times until he fights back. He never tries to beat Frederick again. -
Secret Sunday School
Frederick begins to work for a farmer, William Freeland, in Talbot County, Maryland. Frederick teaches other slaves how to read at secret sunday school meetings. -
The "Escape Plan"
Frederick makes an escape plan, but it does not follow through. It’s discovered; he is jailed. Later he is released. He returns to Baltimore to work as a caulker for Hugh and Sophia Auld. He gains knowledge to help him earn freedom from slavery two years later. -
East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society
Frederick joins the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, a club of debating-slave men. Through this club, he meets Anna Murray, a free African-American housekeeper. She will later become Mrs. Frederick Bailey. -
His New Identity
On September 3, Frederick escapes to New York through borrowing papers from a free-black slave. He changes his last name to Johnson. On September 15, Frederick marries Anna Murray (free African-American housekeeper). Frederick and Anna move to New Bedford, Massachusetts to stay with caterers Nathan and Mary Johnson, where Frederick works as an unskilled laborer. Nathan Johnson suggests change his last name to ‘Douglas,’ a character from the poem, Lady of the Lake, written by Sir Walter Scott. -
William Lloyd Garrison
Douglass hears William Lloyd Garrison speaking after subscribing to his abolitionist-weekly, The Liberator. Later, he becomes a licensed preacher for African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. -
Becomes a Free Man
Douglass writes Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Details included in this book slowly lead to his arrest as a fugitive slave. He meets Susan B. Anthony; he later becomes a strong women's’ rights activist. His English friends anonymously pay Hugh Auld $711.66; Douglass is free. -
His Printing Press
With saved money, Douglass buys a printing press to publish the abolitionist weekly, North Star. He continues to publish it until 1851. -
"Underground Railroad" Aid
Douglass helps escaped slaves flee north through the “Underground Railroad.” -
Garrison and Douglass
Garrison's change in political opinion leads Douglass to lose connection with him throughout the anti-slavery movement. -
Second Biography
Douglass publishes his second biography, My Bondage and My Freedom. -
Douglass' Monthly
Douglass flees to Canada then to England for a planned lecture. Douglass begins to publish Douglass' Monthly. -
Meeting with President Lincoln
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation abolishes slavery in the states that are do not agree with slavery. Douglass becomes a recruiter for 54th Massachusetts Infantry. In August, Douglass meets with President Lincoln to ask for better treatment and more pay for the black soldiers. -
Lincoln's Request
Lincoln asks Douglass to assist slaves escape to the North incase the war is not a Union Victory. -
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public places. -
U.S. Marshall
President Hayes appoints Douglass U.S. Marshall of the District of Columbia. -
Haiti
Douglass is appointed U.S. Minister Resident of the Republic of Haiti. -
Last Lecture and Death
Douglass speaks at a meeting of the National Council of Women. Later that night, he dies in Washington D.C. due to heart failure.
