Frederick Douglass

A famed orator and writer, Frederick Douglass was a key architect of the movement that ended slavery, the very institution into which he was born. Even after his goal to abolish slavery was achieved, Douglass persisted in his struggle for equality. His work in the women’s rights and civil rights movements helped set the stage for further landmark change in this country.

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."

— Frederick Douglass

Born: February, 1817 Tuckahoe, Talbot County, Maryland
Died: February 20, 1895 Washington, DC

Frederick Douglass has been called the father of the civil rights movement, one of history's most influential black leaders and the first African-American civil rights leader of national prominence. At a time in history when blacks were slaves and the country was in political and social upheaval, Frederick Douglass stands out as an extraordinary man. This self-educated activist and advisor to several presidents showed a timeless courage that influenced many who followed, including the leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1960's and today's leaders of the African American community.

At a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society 20 years before the outbreak of the civil war, Douglass delivered his first speech condemning the practice of slavery and advocating that black Americans be able to enjoy the same civil liberties granted to white Americans. Over the next 50 years Frederick Douglass worked tirelessly to improve the lives of African-Americans and to banish slavery, inequality and racism from the face of American society.

Born a slave on an eastern Maryland plantation in 1817, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (he later changed his last name to Douglass) endured poverty, neglect, and physical hardship throughout his early years. He witnessed first-hand the oppression, cruelty, and inhumane treatment from which many slaves suffered.

At the age of eight he was removed from the Maryland plantation to become a houseboy in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld, a prominent Baltimore family. Under the sympathetic tutelage of Mrs. Auld, Douglass learned the basics of reading and writing and began his lifelong pursuit of knowledge and self-education. Following the death of Mr. Auld in 1834, the seventeen year-old Douglass was sent back to the eastern shore of Maryland where he labored as a field hand for a local planter. Subjected to the cruelties of a professional slave breaker, Douglass attempted to escape, but failed. He was returned to Baltimore and put to work as a laborer in the shipyards.

In Baltimore he met his future wife, a free black woman named Anna Murray. Douglass wanted his freedom and on September 3, 1839, dressed in a sailor's uniform, he managed to reach New York City with papers given to him from a free black seaman. In New York, Douglass met David Ruggles, an abolitionist who assisted him and helped him to marry Anna. Anna and Douglass then moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

He quickly associated himself with the abolitionist movement and gained public recognition and sympathy after delivering his stirring 1841 speech at a meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Over the next four years he was a frequent lecturer for the abolitionist movement, speaking out against the unjust and cruel practices of slavery. He was a powerful and eloquent speaker and many people questioned whether he had truly been a slave.

Because he was a fugitive slave, the 1845 publication of his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, put his life in jeopardy and forced him to flee the United States and live abroad. After two years of writing and speaking in England, friends in Europe helped him to become legally free and he returned to the United States.

Frederick and Anna Douglass settled their family in Rochester, New York. In December 1847, Douglass began publishing an abolitionist newspaper which he called "North Star." In the decade preceding the civil war, Douglass used the "North Star" and public forums to hammer away at the American conscience, condemning the evils of slavery and calling for equality for all Americans. The North Star print shop also served as an Underground Railroad station for fugitive slaves. By 1858, Douglass was recognized as an unofficial spokesman for the black community. He often tested the Northern Jim Crow laws by entering public places where he knew he was not allowed.

The slavery issue increasingly divided the nation and tensions soon led to open hostilities. Douglass did not condone or participate in violent acts, but he was accused of helping John Brown to plot the attack on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 1859, and, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, he was once again forced to flee the United States.

Douglass returned to the United States before the outbreak of civil war in 1861. During the war years, he became an unofficial advisor to President Lincoln and relentlessly argued for the right of African Americans to fight in the war. Political circumstances and Douglass' persistent efforts finally persuaded President Lincoln to allow black Americans to serve in the Union Army. Lincoln asked Douglass to help recruit a black militia and he was instrumental in organizing the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Negro Regiments. Three of Douglass' sons fought in the war.

Reconstruction following the civil war brought new hardships and an uncertain future for many black Americans as they struggled to build new lives. Douglass understood the perils facing the newly-freed slaves and he spoke out again and again on the civil and moral responsibility of the nation to accept African Americans as full-fledged citizens.

Political debate ensued and legislative measures were proposed to protect the civil liberties of black Americans. Frederick Douglass, a participant in the antislavery movement for nearly thirty years, was the only African American whose advice was actively sought by the leading politicians of the day. He was recognized as the most visible and respected black leader of his time and he became the first black American to hold positions of national prominence.

In 1866, his piece, "Reconstruction" was published in the Atlantic Monthly. In this poignant article he writes "...The arm of the Federal government is long, but it is far too short to protect the rights of individuals in the interior of distant States. They must have the power to protect themselves, or they will go unprotected, in spite of all the laws the Federal government can put upon the national statute-book...."

In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia. He also served as recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia and minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti, and charge d'affaires to Santo Domingo. He eventually resigned his positions in Haiti and Santo Domingo when he learned that American businessmen were abusing his position in business deals with these governments.

Douglass devoted his life to fighting slavery and improving the lives of African Americans. He was also a strong proponent of women's rights and an early supporter of the suffrage movement. A prolific writer and accomplished orator, he authored three autobiographies, wrote and published countless newspaper articles, and regularly spoke at public forums over the course of a 50-year career. His speeches and writings remain important documents recounting the early struggle of black America for freedom and equality.

As the most prominent black leader in America during the 19th century, Douglass aroused the wrath and hostility of many white Americans as well as stirring resentment and jealousy among black Americans. Every spoken word and every action taken were carefully observed and scrutinized. He was strongly criticized for his marriage to a white woman, Helen Pitts, following the death of his beloved first wife, Anna Murray.

Frederick Douglass was born a slave but became a man who championed the rights of all. His brilliant writings and passions for equal rights are even more incredible when one considers his beginnings. Had he allowed himself to remain a slave, and lived through the ordeal, he would have been freed when the Emancipation Proclamation became law. However, his great mind pushed him to accomplish more and to fight for ideals most people could not articulate or be brave enough to struggle for.

Despite the criticism and obstacles he experienced throughout his life, Douglass remained an outspoken critic of inequality and injustice and an unfailing advocate for the rights of African Americans. Shortly before his death, he was reported to have whispered to a young follower, "Agitate...agitate...agitate." He died peacefully at his home in Washington, DC on February 20, 1895 at the age of seventy-eight and was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY.


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