Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn by Frederick Douglass

Douglass advocated for the 14 thand 15 thamendments, which allowed African American men the ability to vote and citizenship.ĭouglass also worked with Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. He also advocated for Constitutional amendments that would permanently change the status of African Americans in the United States (Trent, Frederick Douglass). With that encouragement, African Americans were able to fight for their freedom, and Lincoln was able to support emancipation to free the slaves after the war. He also encouraged African Americans to fight in the war and helped recruit troops for the war. Douglass worked closely with the Lincoln administration to have emancipation be the agreement to end the Civil War. He also traveled around the country speaking about abolition. He worked with Garrison on his newspaper, and then began his own newspapers, writing about slavery and abolition. With his help, Douglass became a big voice in the abolition movement. Once in New Bedford, Douglass began to go to abolitionist meetings, eventually meeting William Lloyd Garrison. Once he escaped from slavery, he married Anna and began a family (Trent, Frederick Douglass).

At age 20, Douglass met his first wife, Anna, who helped him escape from slavery.

The first book Douglass possessed was The Columbia Orator, this had revolutionary speeches, debates, and writings on natural rights which taught him that there was a connection between literacy and freedom (NPS). He taught himself to read and write when he was young, occasionally being taught by his owner’s wife. He was also known for helping Lincoln to ensure that emancipation was an outcome of the Civil War.ĭouglass didn’t know much about his mother, since she lived on another plantation and died when he was seven and his father was an unknown white man (Editors, 2009). Douglass was known as an abolitionist, and worked closely with Elizabeth Stanton in the Seneca Falls Convention.

Background Informationĭouglass was born into slavery, and was a slave until he escaped in 1838 to New York, a free state. Douglass was known for his position in the women’s rights movement and his work with Abraham Lincoln in the abolition movement. (Frederick Douglass (c1870) Jesse Bravo and the Chris Webber Collection of Artifacts and Documents) Basic Informationįrederick Douglass was born in Cordova, Maryland on February 14 th, 1818, as a slave.

Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn by Frederick Douglass