Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on Holmes Hill Farm near the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1818, and was given the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, after his mother Harriet Bailey. Frederick's mother, Harriet Baily, worked the cornfields surrounding Holmes Hill. He new very little about his father, except that he was a white man, although it was rumored that his mother’s master, Captain Aaron Anthony, had fathered him. Frederick began working in the fields at age six. Living life under his mother’s master was miserable. He was denied adequate amounts food, clothing, and shelter, and was often beaten.

In 1826 Frederick was sent to Baltimore to the home of Hugh and Sophia Auld, who were relatives of his master. Sophia Auld began to grow very fond of Frederick, and even began to teach Frederick to read from the bible, but when her husband became aware of the situation he ordered her to stop. He believed that slaves should not be taught to read or write. By this time F

In 1868, the fourteenth amendment, guaranteeing blacks their full rights as citizens, was passed. Then two years later the fifteenth amendment was passed, guaranteeing all black citizens the right to vote, regardless of their race. Although Douglass strongly argued for women’s rights, he felt that black men needed the vote immediately to protect them and their families from the political power of southern whites. In 1872, Douglass moved to Washington D.C. and he and his two sons took over a newspaper called the New National Era and in 1874, Douglass excepted a job at Freedmen’s Saving and Trust Company, where he was offered to become president of the bank which consisted of black investors.

When Frederick was about 17, Auld sent him to work for Edward Covey, a "slave breaker" who specialized in shattering the spirit of rebellious slaves, Auld believed Frederick was to difficult to control. ”The slave breaker” had Frederick beaten daily for the slightest violation of his strict rules. After spending approximately six months working for Edward Covey, he was then sent to work for a farmer named William Freeland, who was a relatively kind master. But, by this time Frederick had not cared about how nice his master was. The only thing Fredrick cared about, was gaining his freedom. He started an illegal school for blacks, in which he and five others would meet after hours to plan escape routes.

Once in New Bedford, Fredrick felt the name “Johnson” was too common, so he changed his surname to Douglass. Jobs in New Bedford were hard to find, mostly in part to racial discrimination that blacks suffered. During this time Frederick was forced to work as a common laborer. Frederick struggled to provide for his wife, who was pregnant with their first child. The couple eventually had five children, including two sons who served in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, an African American regiment.

In 1850, the U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which helped reinforce other laws that required all runaway slaves to be returned to their owners. Seven years later, the Dred Scott decision was passed, which stated that slaves “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” Upon hearing this, Douglass became part of the Underground Railroad, a network of antislavery activists who helped smuggle slaves from the South. His house in Rochester was a station on the Underground. In 1858 he met an American abolitionist by the name of John Brown, who supported the use of armed forces, to help slaves escape. John Brown was seeking to recruit Douglas, to help him plan an attack on Harpers Ferry (a northern town in Virginia). John B

Some topics in this essay:
Civil War, John Brown, William Freeland, Edward Covey, Society Garrison, Trust Company, Sophia Auld, Anna Murray, Hugh Auld, Harpers Ferry, frederick douglass, john brown, civil war, leading black, thomas auld, newspaper called, freedmen’s saving trust, edward covey, douglass returned, women’s rights, mother harriet, ruggles helped frederick, saving trust company, attack harpers ferry,