Fredrick Douglass
By: Labrisa M., Jon-marc S., Maya K.
About Fredrick Douglass
- Civil Rights activist
- Born- February, 1818
- Died- February 20, 1895
- Place of Birth- Tuckahoe, Maryland
- Place of Death- Washington, DC
- Former slave
- Eminent human rights leader in the abolition movement
- The first black citizen to hold a high U.S government rank
Random Facts
- President Lincoln and Union Leaders were hesitant about enlisting black troops. By 1860, Douglass was well known for his public speaking and efforts to end slavery. Douglass became a consultant to president Lincoln and helped convince him that slaves should fight in the war.
- Books written: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, My Bandage and My Freedom, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: A Will To Be Free, The Heroic Slave
- After his autobiography was published, he went on a 2-year tour of Great Britain and Ireland to avoid recapture by his former owner.
- Supported the early women rights movement.
- People called him the master of irony because of his 4th of July speech saying "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."
- He viewed the Union victory as an apocalyptic rebirth of America.
- Douglass became a symbol of his age and a unique voice for humanism and social justice.
Civil War
600,000 Americans died during the Civil War. Millions more were injured.
Frederick Douglass
Was a Civil War activist. He was a consultant to Abraham Lincoln. He convinced the President to let African Americans to fight in the war.
Abraham Lincoln
Remembered for his vital role as the leader in presenting the Union during the Civil War and for beginning the process (Emancipation Proclamation) that led to the end of slavery.