Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (1817? - 1895)

Frederick Douglass was the son of a Negro slave and white slaveholder. Despite being born into slavery, Douglass taught himself secretly to read and write which was a serious crime in itself in the antebellum South. He was actively involved in improving the lives of his fellow men. He organized a minor revolt against his masters and survived unlike Nat Turner who was not as lucky as Douglass.

His book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which was published in 1845 recounts the harsh life in the pre-Civil War plantations in which he lived and worked before escaping to New York. He describes the senseless cruelty of masters and the debased lives of slaves.

His contribution to the emancipation cause included recruiting Negro volunteers during the Civil War. He was also instrumental in safeguarding and preserving the right of his freed fellow men.

Douglass later worked as a secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, Recorder of Deeds in the District of Columbia and United States Minister to Haiti.