аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

Frederick Douglass. Photo by George Kendall Warren –

Top 10 Facts about Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an African-American reformist, activist, author, and public speaker. He was a former slave. His date of birth was not recorded. He is the source of his life events in his autobiographies. These occurrences were later checked and confirmed.

He was owned by Capt. Aaron Anthony. When he was around eight, he was sent to live with Hugh and Sophia Auld at Fells Point, Baltimore.  He was given the responsibility to take care of their son.

In his teenage years, things changed for the worst. His owner died so he was sent to Captain Thomas Auld. Auld later became his master. Auld was an abusive slave owner.

He was later leased to a local farmer. There he got into a fight with a ‘slave breaker’. This is a person who beat up slaves to make them more compliant. He was later sent to William Freeland’s farm. The conditions were much better here.

1.Frederick escaped slavery in disguise

Frederick Douglass’ Biography Cover Photo from LMU Library-

In Freeland, his desire for freedom grew. He plotted to escape north by taking a large canoe. This was discovered and led to his arrest. He was sent back to Baltimore to live again with Hugh and Sophia.

Hugh Auld hired out Douglass to local shipyards as a tradesman. He would submit his earnings to Auld, who gave Douglass a small percentage of the wages.

This peaceful arrangement was shuttered when he decided to attend a religious meeting postponing paying Auld his weekly fee. Auld threatened him. After that encounter, he escaped in September 1838 by dressing as a sailor and ended up in New York City.

He was about 20 years old when he escaped.

2.He was a self-taught reader and writer

Frederick Douglass signature –

Slaves were not allowed to learn how to read or write. When he was about 12 years of age, his master’s wife started teaching him how to read and write. However, his master put a stop to this. His curious nature led him to secretly observe the white children in their studies.

He believed education should be accessible to everyone.

3.He was a strong advocate for women’s rights

Frederick Douglass. Unknown photographer, edited by Chick Bowen-

Frederick did not want issues of black women and black men separated. He believed that when both were represented and advocated for, they would carry more weight and result in better faster results.

In the Seneca Falls Convention, he was the only black man in attendance. On the issue of women’s right to vote he urged that he would not accept to vote as a black man if black women were not accorded the same right.

His eloquence in the adjudication of the argument made most of the persons who had at first opposed the idea pass the resolution.

He was also smart to first advocate for the white woman. If the white woman was accorded some of these rights then it opened the way for the blacks.

4. Frederick met with Abraham Lincoln

Frederick was burdened by the injustice black soldiers faced. He took it upon himself to go to the white house without an appointment to try to meet with the president.

He expected to be turned away or wait on the whole day but after a short while, he was ushered in.

His complaints were; that the black soldiers be given equal wages as the white soldiers, black soldiers be given protection when taken as war prisoners and be exchanged as readily as other prisoners and if they were to be shot or hung, the United States government to retaliate without delay.

Lincoln was ambiguous in his response. He promised to sign any commission recommended by the secretary of war for black soldiers. He said nothing about the wages.

5. Frederick played a major role in the end of slavery

Emancipation Proclamation, by E.G. Renesch-

Frederick was born in slavery and was separated from his family at an early age. He had suffered in the hands of slave owners: he had been denied food, whipped and even kept in prison.

When he escaped, he found himself attending abolitionist meetings and even met up with an abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, who encouraged him to be a speaker and leader in the movement. He toured all over the US protesting and giving lectures on anti-slavery.

6. Frederick was a preacher

Frederick Douglass. Photo by Unknown-

In 1835, Douglass was hired out by his master to William Freeland, a farmer living in Talbot County, Maryland. He secretly organized a Sunday school, where he taught other slaves to read at the house of a free coloured man.

Frederick became a licensed preacher in 1839. He was first interested in joining a Methodist church but upon learning that it was segregated, he turned to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. His various roles in the church sharpened his oratory skills.

7. Frederick served as an advisor to presidents

From Presidents Abraham Lincoln, and James Garfield to Benjamin Harrison, all respected him as a black leader and even appointed him to various positions in government roles.

He hoped that his appointments would open doors for the black community but it took a while before that happened.

In his first meeting with Abraham Lincoln, he questioned himself if the president would meet up with a former slave. However, this became a non-issue later on when they formed a relationship and the president knew him by name!

8.Frederick helped recruit black soldiers for the Civil War

Among the many convinced that the Civil War would help end slavery was Frederick Douglass. This is why he publicized this and helped recruit black soldiers for the war. His two sons, Lewis Douglass and Charles Douglass were among the first to be recruited. Another son, Frederick Douglass Jr. served as a recruiter.

The war did bring some relief in that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1^st 1883, which declared the freedom of all slaves in Confederate-held territory.

9.Frederick’s second wife was white

Frederick Douglass with Helen Pitts Douglass (seated, right) and her sister Eva Pitts (standing, center).Photo by Unknown author-

When Anna died in 1882, Frederick married a white woman by the name, Helen Pitts. This marriage stirred controversy in that she was white and 20 years younger than Douglass. Helen’s family did not approve and went to the extent of disowning her. Fredrick’s children also did not approve. Fredrick urged that the first wife was the colour of his mother while the second was his father’s.

10. Frederick was rumoured to have a lover

Frederick was rumoured to have a romantic relationship with one Ottilie Assing. Assing was a journalist who had emigrated from Germany.

Her affiliation with Frederick is that she wanted to seek permission to translate My Bondage and My Freedom, an autobiography by Frederick, into German. She became a frequent visitor at his home and often stayed at his house for several months at a time.

When she learned that Frederick had married the second time, she fell into depression and committed suicide.

Upon her death, she left Frederick a sum of 13,000$, a ‘large album’ and whatever choice of books from her library.

In 1877, Frederick met up with his former master, Thomas Auld at the persistence of Thomas’, daughter, on his death bed, the two men reconciled. In the past years, she had attended one of his meetings and even cheered for him.

On February 20, 1895, he died of a massive heart attack shortly after attending the National Council of Women in Washington meeting where he got a standing ovation. He was aged 77 years.