Frederick Douglass: A Lifetime Of Achievement

Frederick Bailey was born February of 1818 on Holmes Hill Farm. The farm was located near the town of Easton in Maryland. It was owned by Aaron Anthony. Harriet Bailey, Frederick’s mother, worked in the fields surrounding the Holmes Hill Farm. Frederick was not raised by his mother, but by his grandmother until the age of six.

Frederick had begun his life as a slave. He joined his brother and sisters on the Anthony farm. The children were treated like animals. They were fed from a trough and were given only one linen shirt. They were forced to sleep on the floor with no blankets. Frederick soon learned what would happen to the slaves that did not obey order

Douglass campaigned even more for the right of blacks to fight in the Northern army. In 1863, congress allowed blacks to enlist. The Massachusetts 54th regiment was the first black unit. Douglass began to publish recruitment posters. His speeches promised equality for blacks. Unfortunately this did not happen. Blacks were only paid half of what white men were paid. They were also not given adequate training or equipment. When Douglass learned of this treatment he immediately stopped campaigning. He went to President Lincoln. Lincoln promised that there would be a change in the future.

In the fall of 1846 some of Douglass’s friends came up with the $710.96 that was needed to buy his freedom. So on December 5, 1846, Hugh Auld gave Douglass his freedom. Douglass returned home with the idea for a new abolitionist paper. Douglass and his family to Rochester New York. Here he started his new paper, The North Star. The paper’s motto was, “Right is of no sex-Truth is of no color-God is the Father of us all and we are all Brethren.”

In the election of 1868, blacks campaigned for Ulysses S. Grant. Grant won the election. The Fifteenth Amendment passed. The amendment gave all citizens the right to vote, regardless their race. On March 30, 1870 the amendment was official. Douglass could finally step back and look everything that had been accomplished.

Frederick was chosen to be the companion of Daniel Lloyd, the youngest son of the plantation owner. In 1826 Lucretia Auld, Aaron Anthony’s daughter, told Frederick that he was being sent to Baltimore. He would be living with Hugh Auld. Frederick’s duties included running errands and caring for the Auld’s son. Sophia Auld taught him the alphabet and had begun to teach him to read when her husband found out. He told her to stop immediately. It was unlawful to teach slaves to read or write.

Even though he was on free soil he was not free. If caught he could be taken back. He went to David Ruggles. Ruggles allowed Frederick to stay for awhile. He sent for Anna Murray. She and Frederick were married on September 15, 1838. They left for the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. They lived with Nathan Johnson. Johnson suggested that Frederick change his name. He agreed to change it. Frederick’s name comes from the novel, The Lady of the Lake, by Sir Walter Scott. He became Frederick Douglass.

On April 9, 1865 the Civil War ended. The war to end slavery was won. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in December 1865. It abolished slavery in all areas of the United States. Douglass knew that blacks still needed someone to fight for them. Freed slaves were still experiencing conditions similar to those when they were slaves.

Some topics in this essay:
Garrison Garrison, Proclamation Douglass’s, Sophia Auld, England Douglass, Farm Frederick, Frederick Douglass, Brown Douglass, Fourth July, Trust Company, North Star, frederick douglass, hugh auld, washington dc, civil rights bill, rights bill, civil rights, dc douglass, rights blacks, frederick sent, life slave, women’s rights, washington dc douglass, grant won election, blacks civil rights, william lloyd garrison,