Who is Frederick Douglass?
Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, was a slave on a tobacco, corn, and wheat farm in Maryland in 1818. His mother was a slave named Harriet Bailey, and his father was an unknown white man. Rumor had it that his father was Captain Aaron Anthony, Frederick Douglass’s first owner. After Frederick Douglass was born, he went to live with his grandmother, Betsey Bailey. He was not able to see his mother more than four or five times after that, since she had to walk twelve miles each way to see him. In addition, she had to be back at work by sunrise or face a whipping. She died when Frederick Douglass was seven years old. When Frederick Douglass was six years old, he began to work as a slave in his master’s house. He later wrote about the conditions of slavery. He was only given a long linen shirt to wear, with no shoes, pants, jacket, or socks and fed only boiled corn mush. He often awoke to hear slaves being beaten, including his own relatives. At age eight, Fred
Frederick Douglass (February 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called “The Sage of Anacostia” and “The Lion of Anacostia”, Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African American history and a formidable public presence. He was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant.
