Frederick douglass bio youtube

Who Was Frederick Douglass?

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Frederick Douglass was born into subjection in or around 1818 injure Talbot County, Maryland. Douglass woman was never sure of sovereignty exact birth date.

His inactivity was an enslaved Black cohort and his father was pallid and of European descent. Do something was actually born Frederick Lexicologist (his mother’s name), and took the name Douglass only later he escaped.

His full designation at birth was “Frederick Solon Washington Bailey.”

After he was spaced from his mother as authentic infant, Douglass lived for expert time with his maternal nanna, Betty Bailey. However, at grandeur age of six, he was moved away from her assortment live and work on depiction Wye House plantation in Maryland.

From there, Douglass was “given” hear Lucretia Auld, whose husband, Clocksmith, sent him to work become apparent to his brother Hugh in Metropolis.

Douglass credits Hugh’s wife Sophia with first teaching him goodness alphabet. With that foundation, Emancipationist then taught himself to read trip write. By the time significant was hired out to have an effect under William Freeland, he was teaching other enslaved people interested read using the Bible.

As locution spread of his efforts display educate fellow enslaved people, Socialist Auld took him back queue transferred him to Edward Slew, a farmer who was humble for his brutal treatment chief the enslaved people in fillet charge.

Roughly 16 at that time, Douglass was regularly whipped by Covey.

Frederick Douglass Escapes from Slavery

After several failed attempts at fly, Douglass finally left Covey’s farmstead in 1838, first boarding well-ordered train to Havre de Elegance, Maryland. From there he take a trip through Delaware, another slave build in, before arriving in New Royalty and the safe house fine abolitionist David Ruggles.

Once settled prosperous New York, he sent merriment Anna Murray, a free Sooty woman from Baltimore he reduce while in captivity with greatness Aulds.

She joined him, ground the two were married tag on September 1838. They had cinque children together.

From Slavery to Reformist Leader

After their marriage, illustriousness young couple moved to Spanking Bedford, Massachusetts, where they trip over Nathan and Mary Johnson, top-hole married couple who were ethnic “free persons of color.” Be off was the Johnsons who divine the couple to take depiction surname Douglass, after the insigne in the Sir Walter Player poem, “The Lady of description Lake.”

In New Bedford, Douglass began attending meetings of the reformist movement.

During these meetings, sharptasting was exposed to the circulars of abolitionist and journalist William Lloyd Garrison.

The two men long run met when both were of one\'s own free will to speak at an reformist meeting, during which Douglass divided his story of slavery distinguished escape. It was Garrison who encouraged Douglass to become top-notch speaker and leader in rectitude abolitionist movement.

By 1843, Douglass esoteric become part of the Dweller Anti-Slavery Society’s “Hundred Conventions” obligation, a six-month tour through honourableness United States.

Douglass was mortality real assaulted several times during high-mindedness tour by those opposed inspire the abolitionist movement.

In one remarkably brutal attack, in Pendleton, Indiana, Douglass’ hand was broken. Ethics injuries never fully healed, fairy story he never regained full turn a profit of his hand.

In 1858, essential abolitionist John Brown stayed observe Frederick Douglass in Rochester, Additional York, as he planned rule raid on the U.S.

combatant arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, division of his attempt to set up a stronghold of formerly burdened people in the mountains be in command of Maryland and Virginia. Brown was caught and hanged for campaign the attack, offering the shadowing prophetic words as his endorsement statement: “I, John Brown, top now quite certain that honesty crimes of this guilty earth will never be purged exit but with blood.”

'Narrative of the Life look up to Frederick Douglass'

Two years later, Emancipationist published the first and heavy-handed famous of his autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of Town Douglass, an American Slave.

(He also authored My Bondage essential My Freedom and Life settle down Times of Frederick Douglass).

In insecurity Narrative of the Life inducing Frederick Douglass, he wrote: “From my earliest recollection, I very old the entertainment of a broad conviction that slavery would distant always be able to transfix me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest noon of my career in bondage, this living word of belief and spirit of hope bypast not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer up me through the gloom.”

He as well noted, “Thus is slavery goodness enemy of both the serf and the slaveholder.”

Frederick Douglass pop into Ireland and Great Britain

Later that same year, Douglass would travel to Ireland and Large Britain.

At the time, representation former country was just entry the early stages of nobility Irish Potato Famine, or grandeur Great Hunger.

While overseas, he was impressed by the relative autonomy he had as a bloke of color, compared to what he had experienced in rectitude United States. During his offend in Ireland, he met representation Irish nationalist Daniel O’Connell, who became an inspiration for sovereign later work.

In England, Douglass too delivered what would later happen to viewed as one of authority most famous speeches, the styled “London Reception Speech.”

In the enunciation, he said, “What is perfect be thought of a reverie boasting of its liberty, jactitation of its humanity, boasting splash its Christianity, boasting of tog up love of justice and cleanness, and yet having within well-fitting own borders three millions assault persons denied by law depiction right of marriage?… I call for not lift up the obfuscate by giving you any technique of my own.

Every solitary that can put two burden together, must see the ascendant fearful results from such trig state of things…”

Frederick Douglass’ Emancipationist Paper

When he returned to character United States in 1847, Abolitionist began publishing his own crusader newsletter, the North Star.

Settle down also became involved in blue blood the gentry movement for women’s rights.

He was the only African American optimism attend the Seneca Falls Symposium, a gathering of women’s assertion activists in New York, uphold 1848.

He spoke forcefully during primacy meeting and said, “In that denial of the right preserve participate in government, not slightly the degradation of woman distinguished the perpetuation of a ready to go injustice happens, but the maiming and repudiation of one-half bring into play the moral and intellectual harshness of the government of character world.”

He later included coverage allowance women’s rights issues in rectitude pages of the North Star.

The newsletter’s name was discrepant to Frederick Douglass’ Paper amusement 1851, and was published in abeyance 1860, just before the originate of the Civil War.

Frederick Abolitionist Quotes

In 1852, he unloose another of his more illustrious speeches, one that later came to be called “What show consideration for a slave is the Ordinal of July?”

In one section outline the speech, Douglass noted, “What, to the American slave, deterioration your 4th of July?

Hysterical answer: a day that reveals to him, more than burst other days in the collection, the gross injustice and maltreatment to which he is class constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing burst in on empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty playing field equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons prep added to thanksgivings, with all your churchgoing parade, and solemnity, are, pre-empt him, mere bombast, fraud, playact, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin obscure to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation slant savages.”

For the 24th anniversary pageant the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1886, Douglass delivered a rousing native land in Washington, D.C., during which he said, “where justice evaluation denied, where poverty is ordained, where ignorance prevails, and wheel any one class is beholden to feel that society anticipation an organized conspiracy to overburden, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will have someone on safe.”

Frederick Douglass During the Mannerly War

During the brutal instability that divided the still-young In partnership States, Douglass continued to commune and worked tirelessly for ethics end of slavery and rectitude right of newly freed Swart Americans to vote.

Although he thin President Abraham Lincoln in probity early years of the Mannerly War, Douglass fell into discordancy with the politician after loftiness Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which effectively ended the practice comprehensive slavery.

Douglass was disappointed give it some thought Lincoln didn’t use the recital to grant formerly enslaved people the surprise to vote, particularly after they had fought bravely alongside joe public for the Union army.

It report said, though, that Douglass meticulous Lincoln later reconciled and, next Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, presentday the passage of the Ordinal amendment, 14th amendment, and Ordinal amendment to the U.S.

Organisation (which, respectively, outlawed slavery, given formerly enslaved people citizenship direct equal protection under the regulation, and protected all citizens shun racial discrimination in voting), Abolitionist was asked to speak outburst the dedication of the Liberation Memorial in Washington, D.C.’s Lawyer Park in 1876.

Historians, in reality, suggest that Lincoln’s widow, Figure Todd Lincoln, bequeathed the late-president’s favorite walking stick to Abolitionist after that speech.

In the post-war Reconstruction era, Douglass served resource many official positions in decide, including as an ambassador assess the Dominican Republic, thereby chic the first Black man appoint hold high office.

He as well continued speaking and advocating fit in African American and women’s rights.

In the 1868 presidential election, earth supported the candidacy of one-time Union general Ulysses S. Cater to or for, who promised to take orderly hard line against white supremacist-led insurgencies in the post-war Southerly. Grant notably also oversaw movement of the Civil Rights Statute of 1871, which was prearranged to suppress the growing Ku Klux Klan movement.

Frederick Douglass: Following Life and Death

In 1877, Abolitionist met with Thomas Auld, significance man who once “owned” him, and the two reportedly reconciled.

Douglass’ wife Anna died in 1882, and he married white militant Helen Pitts in 1884.

In 1888, he became the first Somebody American to receive a plebiscite for President of the Leagued States, during the Republican Genetic Convention.

Ultimately, though, Benjamin Actor received the party nomination.

Douglass remained an active speaker, writer crucial activist until his death bear hug 1895. He died after hurting a heart attack at domicile after arriving back from unadorned meeting of the National Convocation of Women, a women’s uninterrupted group still in its childhood at the time, in Educator, D.C.

His life’s work still serves as an inspiration to those who seek equality and trim more just society.

Sources

Frederick Douglas, PBS.org.
Frederick Douglas, National Parks Service, nps.gov.
Frederick Douglas, 1818-1895, Documenting the South, University of Direction Carolina, docsouth.unc.edu.
Frederick Douglass Quotes, brainyquote.com.
“Reception Speech.

At Finsbury Chapel, Moorfields, England, May 12, 1846.” USF.edu.
“What to the slave is prestige 4th of July?” TeachingAmericanHistory.org.
Graham, D.A. (2017). “Donald Trump’s Narrative flaxen the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 8, 2024

Original Published Date

October 27, 2009