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Early Life
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in Talbot County
Maryland in 1818. He only had 1 parent technechly because he never knew his father who was a white man. -
Working as a Slave
When Douglass was 8, he was sent to live in Baltimore as a house servant with the family of Hugh Auld. Sophia, Auld's wife taught Frederick how to read. Even though it was against the law. -
Escape to Freedom
In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom on a train. The train took him to New York City, a free state in the north. Douglass then married Anna Murray. -
Antislavery Work
At an antislavery convention in 1841 in Nantucket, Massachusetts,
Douglass was invited to describe his experiences as a slave. His moving speech marked the beginning of his carrer as an aboltionist. -
Later Life
During the American Civil War, Douglass was consultant to president Abraham Lincoln. Douglass suggested that former slaves should be given weapons to fight for the north. He died of heart failure in 1895.