Frederick Douglass (about 1818–1895) was born into slavery in Maryland, escaped to the North in 1838 and became the most famous abolitionist orator and writer in America. His Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) is a classic of American autobiography.
Works
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Slavery
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland, around 1818; he never knew his exact birthday and later chose 14 February. He was separated from his mother as a baby and barely knew her.
Sent to Baltimore as a boy, he was taught the alphabet by his mistress until her husband forbade it, and then learned to read in secret from white children in the streets. As a young man he was hired out to a 'slave-breaker', Edward Covey, whom he finally fought and resisted.
Escape and fame
In September 1838, disguised as a free sailor and carrying borrowed papers, he escaped by train and boat to New York. He married Anna Murray, a free Black woman who had helped him, settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and took the name Douglass.
In 1841 he spoke at an anti-slavery meeting and was hired as a lecturer. His Narrative, published in 1845, named his former masters; to avoid capture, he spent nearly two years lecturing in Ireland and Britain, where friends bought his legal freedom.
Newspaper man and statesman
Back in America he founded his own newspaper, The North Star, in Rochester, New York, and supported women's rights at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. During the Civil War he met Lincoln and recruited Black soldiers for the Union army.
After the war he held several federal posts, including marshal of the District of Columbia and minister to Haiti. He published two further autobiographies and died in Washington on 20 February 1895.
Anecdotes
Learning to read
Douglass wrote that he traded bread with poor white boys in Baltimore in exchange for lessons in reading. When his master forbade his wife to teach him, saying learning would 'spoil' a slave, Douglass understood that reading was the path to freedom.
Freedom bought in Britain
In 1846 two Quaker friends in Newcastle raised money and paid his former owner 150 pounds for his legal freedom, so that he could return to the United States without fear of being captured.
Frequently asked questions
How did Frederick Douglass escape?
In 1838 he travelled by train and steamboat from Baltimore to New York, dressed as a sailor and carrying the papers of a free Black seaman.
What did Douglass write?
Three autobiographies: the Narrative (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881), as well as many speeches and articles.
Did Douglass meet Lincoln?
Yes, several times at the White House during the Civil War, to discuss the treatment of Black soldiers and emancipation.