“Frederick Douglass.” - Joel

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in or around 1818. His mother was an enslaved black woman and his father was white and of European descent. He was born Frederick Bailey, after his mother’s name, and took the name Douglass only after he escaped from slavery.

He became the leading African-American voice of the nineteenth century. At an early age, he realized that his ability to read was the key to freedom. All of his efforts from then on focused on achieving

freedom. As a young man, he came into contact with black preachers and taught in the Sabbath School in Baltimore. Here he refined his reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Douglass dedicated his life to achieving justice for all Americans, in particular African-Americans, women, and minority groups. He served as advisor to presidents. Abraham Lincoln referred to him as

the most meritorious man of the nineteenth century. In his later years Douglass was appointed to several offices in the Federal Government.