Frederick Douglass orator, journalist, and Anti-Slavery leader

1. Frederick Douglassorator, journalist, and Anti-Slavery leader Shawn Varughese APUSH Period 1

2. His Life • He was born in Talbot County, Maryland (near Tuckahoe) in 1817 with the name of Frederick Augustus Bailey. • He was born into slavery. His parents, an unknown white man and Harriet Bailey who was a slave that was part American Indian. • His parents weren't really an influence on Frederick as he was separated from his mother at an early age. So he was left under the care of his grandparents then around 1824-25 he was sent to Baltimore to live under his new caretaker. • It was there where he learned to read. The caretakers relative taught him how to read with the Bible until it was forbidden. By then he had the basic literacy skills needed so he secretly read the caretakers son’s books to teach himself. • By the age of thirteen, he had bought his first book, The Columbian Orator. From this book he had learned about the injustice of slavery and why people should be free. He also learned many public speaking techniques which would help him become one of the greatest orators in America.

3. His Life (Continued) • By 1836 he was sent out to work in a shipyard where he learned to write by tracing letters on the ship. But he escaped in 1838 to New York. • When he reached New York he changed his name to Frederick Johnson but later deciding that his last name was too common he changed it to Douglass. • His death was in 1895 at Cedar Hill.

4. Was He Religious? • Well he wasn’t anti-religious. He was taught how to read with the bible. But he was against the religion of the slaveholders. They were far from what was to be perceived as Christianity. He says that it means to be good. So to be a Christian you have to reject slavery. Also he poked fun at the people who were religious but still were racist and the preachers who rarely take care of their slaves. Frederick like most abolitionists followed the conduct of Christianity.

5. His Works • In 1841 he went to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society where he was asked to speak. He delivered his speech with such passion that the society hired him as a full agent. He went across the north and delivered lectures. This quote shows how he interpreted discrimination. “The fact is, white Americans find it hard to tell the truth about colored people. They see us with a dollar in their eyes.” • A lot of people questioned whether or not he was a real slave because of his abilities of speaking and his knowledge. So he wrote and released his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave in 1845 and he later revised this in 1881. • After his bio was published, he fled to Britain fearing for his freedom. But came back to Rochester N.Y when people helped him buy his freedom back. He cofounded an abolitionist newspaper called the North Star which was later renamed to Frederick Douglass’s Paper the paper influenced many of those who wanted to become free.

6. His Significance • He promoted the freedom of slaves. • Was a key to the Emancipation Proclamation. He urged Lincoln to emancipate the slaves and helped recruit African-American troops. • He was very successful with his speeches and helped pass the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments which banned slavery and racial discrimination and those who were born in the US were citizens. • These and other things had a lasting influence. Promoted many abolitionist of the past to fight and set a standard for the abolishment of slavery. • The single most important thing about Frederick was that he despised slavery.

7. His Major Contribution/ Conclusion • His major contribution to the American Society was promoting the abolishment of slavery and his passion for it. He was THE one who influenced Abraham Lincoln to emancipate the slaves and was one of the few slaves that had been actually educated. So if it wasn’t for him there wouldn’t have been a North Star to spread the latest news. His influence has to have been The Columbian Orator which helped him realize the horrors to slavery. As he said describing himself “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”