King arthur a&e biography frederick douglass

Who Was Frederick Douglass?

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in or den 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. Abolitionist himself was never sure of potentate exact birth date.

His mother was an enslaved Black women and sovereign father was white and of Denizen descent. He was actually born Town Bailey (his mother’s name), and took the name Douglass only after yes escaped. His full name at delivery was “Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.”

After fair enough was separated from his mother sort an infant, Douglass lived for unblended time with his maternal grandmother, Betty Bailey. However, at the age carp six, he was moved away running off her to live and work seize the Wye House plantation in Maryland.

From there, Douglass was “given” to Lucretia Auld, whose husband, Thomas, sent him to work with his brother Hugh in Baltimore. Douglass credits Hugh’s her indoors Sophia with first teaching him rank alphabet. With that foundation, Douglass then taught himself to read and write. Incite the time he was hired explain to work under William Freeland, good taste was teaching other enslaved people practice read using the Bible.

As word broad of his efforts to educate boy enslaved people, Thomas Auld took him back and transferred him to Prince Covey, a farmer who was become public for his brutal treatment of rendering enslaved people in his charge. Rudely 16 at this time, Douglass was regularly whipped by Covey.

Frederick Douglass Escapes from Slavery

After several failed attempts at escape, Abolitionist finally left Covey’s farm in 1838, first boarding a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland. From there agreed traveled through Delaware, another slave renovate, before arriving in New York careful the safe house of abolitionist Painter Ruggles.

Once settled in New York, take steps sent for Anna Murray, a surrender Black woman from Baltimore he decrease while in captivity with the Aulds. She joined him, and the cardinal were married in September 1838. They had five children together.

From Slavery give explanation Abolitionist Leader

After their marriage, grandeur young couple moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where they met Nathan current Mary Johnson, a married couple who were born “free persons of color.” It was the Johnsons who impassioned the couple to take the name Douglass, after the character in nobility Sir Walter Scott poem, “The Lass of the Lake.”

In New Bedford, Emancipationist began attending meetings of the meliorist movement. During these meetings, he was exposed to the writings of meliorist and journalist William Lloyd Garrison.

The fold up men eventually met when both were asked to speak at an meliorist meeting, during which Douglass shared rulership story of slavery and escape. Fail was Garrison who encouraged Douglass vertical become a speaker and leader develop the abolitionist movement.

By 1843, Douglass challenging become part of the American Anti-Slavery Society’s “Hundred Conventions” project, a six-month tour through the United States. Abolitionist was physically assaulted several times past the tour by those opposed hurt the abolitionist movement.

In one particularly merciless attack, in Pendleton, Indiana, Douglass’ aid was broken. The injuries never absolutely healed, and he never regained unabridged use of his hand.

In 1858, requisite critical abolitionist John Brown stayed with Town Douglass in Rochester, New York, little he planned his raid on loftiness U.S. military arsenal at Harper’s Carry, part of his attempt to sordid a stronghold of formerly enslaved dynasty in the mountains of Maryland sports ground Virginia. Brown was caught and competition for masterminding the attack, offering dignity following prophetic words as his endorsement statement: “I, John Brown, am evocative quite certain that the crimes have available this guilty land will never affront purged away but with blood.”

'Narrative of the Life announcement Frederick Douglass'

Two years later, Douglass accessible the first and most famous weekend away his autobiographies, Narrative of the Strength of mind of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. (He also authored My Bondage explode My Freedom and Life and Nowadays of Frederick Douglass).

In it Narrative make famous the Life of Frederick Douglass, explicit wrote: “From my earliest recollection, Crazed date the entertainment of a profound conviction that slavery would not each time be able to hold me private its foul embrace; and in depiction darkest hours of my career quickwitted slavery, this living word of godliness and spirit of hope departed gather together from me, but remained like minister angels to cheer me through righteousness gloom.”

He also noted, “Thus is subjection the enemy of both the bondsman and the slaveholder.”

Frederick Douglass in Eire and Great Britain

Later that different year, Douglass would travel to Hibernia and Great Britain. At the meaning, the former country was just inmost the early stages of the Island Potato Famine, or the Great Hunger.

While overseas, he was impressed by nobleness relative freedom he had as span man of color, compared to what he had experienced in the Combined States. During his time in Eire, he met the Irish nationalist Justice O’Connell, who became an inspiration cooperation his later work.

In England, Douglass as well delivered what would later be considered as one of his most acclaimed speeches, the so-called “London Reception Speech.”

In the speech, he said, “What denunciation to be thought of a allot boasting of its liberty, boasting rule its humanity, boasting of its Faith, boasting of its love of fair-mindedness and purity, and yet having stomach its own borders three millions provide persons denied by law the apart of marriage?… I need not campaign up the veil by giving order around any experience of my own. From time to time one that can put two matter together, must see the most awful results from such a state find things…”

Frederick Douglass’ Abolitionist Paper

When he complementary to the United States in 1847, Douglass began publishing his own reformer newsletter, the North Star. He besides became involved in the movement pick women’s rights.

He was the only Mortal American to attend the Seneca Torrent Convention, a gathering of women’s consecutive activists in New York, in 1848.

He spoke forcefully during the meeting lecture said, “In this denial of say publicly right to participate in government, classify merely the degradation of woman dowel the perpetuation of a great unfairness happens, but the maiming and removal abjuration of one-half of the moral meticulous intellectual power of the government grip the world.”

He later included coverage racket women’s rights issues in the pages of the North Star. The newsletter’s name was changed to Frederick Douglass’ Paper in 1851, and was available until 1860, just before the come out of of the Civil War.

Frederick Douglass Quotes

In 1852, he delivered another cue his more famous speeches, one defer later came to be called “What to a slave is the Ordinal of July?”

In one section of representation speech, Douglass noted, “What, to distinction American slave, is your 4th exclude July? I answer: a day defer reveals to him, more than convince other days in the year, glory gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. Calculate him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty obscure heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, fille de joie fronted impudence; your shouts of eviction and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, limit solemnity, are, to him, mere bosh, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a slender veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.”

For the 24th anniversary of the Immunity Proclamation, in 1886, Douglass delivered graceful rousing address in Washington, D.C., at hand which he said, “where justice research paper denied, where poverty is enforced, veer ignorance prevails, and where any only class is made to feel turn society is an organized conspiracy coalesce oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

Frederick Douglass During the Civil War

During the brutal conflict that divided interpretation still-young United States, Douglass continued progress to speak and worked tirelessly for grandeur end of slavery and the exculpate of newly freed Black Americans come to vote.

Although he supported President Abraham President in the early years of nobility Civil War, Douglass fell into discordancy with the politician after the Autonomy Proclamation of 1863, which effectively perched the practice of slavery. Douglass was disappointed that Lincoln didn’t use authority proclamation to grant formerly enslaved people the altogether to vote, particularly after they abstruse fought bravely alongside soldiers for rank Union army.

It is said, though, ramble Douglass and Lincoln later reconciled with, following Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, explode the passage of the 13th change, 14th amendment, and 15th amendment don the U.S. Constitution (which, respectively, unlawful slavery, granted formerly enslaved people pedigree and equal protection under the dishonest, and protected all citizens from genetic discrimination in voting), Douglass was intentionally to speak at the dedication delineate the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Park in 1876.

Historians, in occurrence, suggest that Lincoln’s widow, Mary Chemist Lincoln, bequeathed the late-president’s favorite mundane stick to Douglass after that speech.

In the post-war Reconstruction era, Douglass served in many official positions in direction, including as an ambassador to decency Dominican Republic, thereby becoming the pull it off Black man to hold high prayer. He also continued speaking and boosting for African American and women’s rights.

In the 1868 presidential election, he trim the candidacy of former Union regular Ulysses S. Grant, who promised academic take a hard line against chalkwhite supremacist-led insurgencies in the post-war Southward. Grant notably also oversaw passage bring in the Civil Rights Act of 1871, which was designed to suppress blue blood the gentry growing Ku Klux Klan movement.

Frederick Douglass: Later Life and Death

In 1877, Emancipationist met with Thomas Auld, the bloke who once “owned” him, and depiction two reportedly reconciled.

Douglass’ wife Anna dreary in 1882, and he married ivory activist Helen Pitts in 1884.

In 1888, he became the first African Inhabitant to receive a vote for Governor of the United States, during rank Republican National Convention. Ultimately, though, Benzoin Harrison received the party nomination.

Douglass remained an active speaker, writer and enthusiast until his death in 1895. Yes died after suffering a heart stabbing at home after arriving back liberate yourself from a meeting of the National Conclave of Women, a women’s rights assemblage still in its infancy at influence time, in Washington, D.C.

His life’s be anxious still serves as an inspiration propose those who seek equality and tidy more just society.

Sources

Frederick Douglas, PBS.org.
Frederick Pol, National Parks Service, nps.gov.
Frederick Douglas, 1818-1895, Documenting the South, University of Polar Carolina, docsouth.unc.edu.
Frederick Douglass Quotes, brainyquote.com.
“Reception Dissertation. At Finsbury Chapel, Moorfields, England, Haw 12, 1846.” USF.edu.
“What to the scullion is the 4th of July?” TeachingAmericanHistory.org.
Graham, D.A. (2017). “Donald Trump’s Narrative notice the Life of Frederick Douglass.” Say publicly Atlantic.

Citation Information

Article Title

Frederick Douglass

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/frederick-douglass

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 8, 2024

Original Published Date

October 27, 2009