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Birth/Family
Fredrick Douglass was born in 1818 on an unknown date, later in life he liked to celebrate it on February 14. Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. His father was one of the plantation owners, which he got selected to live with at a very young age. On the other hand his mother, was not known to be an important part of Douglass’s life and died when he was ten. -
Learning to Read and Write
Douglass was sent to Baltimore the home of Hugh Auld, where he learned by skills that he would need later in his life. His first teacher was Hugh’s wife but then got caught, so he moved on to other people in the area. Now knowing how to read and write, Douglass began to read the paper about slavery. He also helped other children willing to learn, to read and write. In a few years, he credited The Columbian Orator. -
Failed Attempt
Frederick Douglass did not escape slavery on his first attempt. After working for a couple of different masters, Douglass was sent to a Plantation that belonged to William Freeland, a relatively kind master. After reading all those articles on slavery, he wanted freedom. He formed a school for slaves from there he formed an escape group with five other slaves. About a year pasted and their plan was complete but, a member of their betrayed and told the whites. -
Freedom At Last
- On September 3rd, 1836, Douglass was done groups, he escaped on his own. Douglass successfully escaped by train and boat, first boarded a train going to Harve de Grace, Maryland. From here, he crossed the Susquehanna River by ferry, then continued the escape my train to Delaware. From here he went by boat to “Quaker City” Philadelphia where he was finally free but, not done, he made his way to New York by train.
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First Time for Everything
Douglass joined various organizations speaking out against slavery. One of them being The Liberator, a weekly journal by William Lloyd Garrison. He heard Garrison speak at a meeting of the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society, regularly he attended the meetings. At one of the meetings he was asked to speak, and so he did. After telling his story, members of the group encouraged him to become a speaker. Speaking at a convention in Massachusetts, where he shared his story and inspired others. -
Women's Rights
Douglass was a major station on the Underground Railroad, he helped hundreds of slaves escape. Douglass not only helped and shared his opinion on slavery but, he also helped woman’s suffrage. He took part in the first women rights convention in Seneca Fall, NY. Douglass also spoke at the convention, speaking about his view on women’s rights. On March 1st, 1874 Douglass becomes the President of Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company and tries to save the bank but, is unsuccessful. -
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
In 1845, seven years after his escape, Douglass published his first book. An Auto-Biography called Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The book became bestseller, and 11,000 copies were made. Douglass was very proud, it marked the start of a successful career as a journalist and writer, for the abolitionist cause. After this he went on tour going to both England and Ireland, and spreading his story around the world. He later makes his 2nd and 3rd auto biographies. -
The North Star
After his tour, he made enough money to fund his own newspaper/journal called The North Star, which was established on December 3rd, 1847 in Rochester, NY. As the paper developed it became more and more popular and influential. One of the quotes being “Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no color – God is the Father of us all, and we were all Brethren” At first Rochester citizens were unhappy that their local newspaper was written by a black man but, eventually the citizens accepted that fact. -
Abraham Lincoln
By the Civil War, Douglass was one of the most influential and famous black men in America, in 1863 Douglass had a meeting with President Abraham Lincoln. Douglass won over Abraham Lincoln, he had shared his story, Abraham declared the Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, this declared the freedom of all slaves in the Confederate territory also he convinced Abraham Lincoln to let black soldiers into the army. -
Death of a Hero
After the Civil war, Douglass moved to Washington D.C, he served in international affairs, in the Council of Government for the District of Columbia. On February 20, 1895, Frederick Douglass died, and the day marks the death of a hero. Douglass was attending a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. After the meeting, he was returning home and died of a stroke or heart attack. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.
