Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was one of the prominent African American figures of the nineteenth century. Born into slavery, his tale of escape caught the interest of many in the North. Douglass spent much of his life campaigning for the immediate abolition (end) of slavery, and lived to see the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. When he died in 1895, a struggled ensued between Booker T. Washington and WEB Du Bois to claim themselves as his intellectual heir.

Frederick Douglass Biography

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot Country, Maryland. He was originally called Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.

He was enslaved by Captain Anthony, a plantation overseer, who disciplined slaves and ensured agriculture targets were met. Like many enslaved people, Douglass did not grow up with his whole family: he was separated from his mother but was raised by his grandparents.

A young Frederick Douglass. Wikimedia Commons.

When Douglass was around eight years old, he was sent to live with a relative of Captain Aaron Anthony, a man named Hugh Auld. Auld's wife, Sophia, was kind to Douglass and began teaching him how to read. However, when Hugh Auld discovered her actions, he forbade it. He told his wife that literacy would ‘spoil a slave'.

In 1833, Douglass' was loaned to a farmer called Edward Covey who was known as a ‘slave breaker.’ This meant that he abused enslaved people so harshly that they were broken into being compliant. On one occasion, Douglass retaliated when Covey attacked him. He won the fight and Covey never attacked him again.

In 1834, he was sent to work on William Freeland’s farm, where conditions were better. Douglass became increasingly involved in the community and formed a school where he taught other Black people how to read and write. He was also involved in a plot to escape which was discovered. For that reason, he spent some time in prison after which he was sent back to Hugh and Sophia Auld.

Douglass was trained as a ship caulker and became skilled at his trade. He was hired out by Hugh Auld, who demanded a weekly fee. Once, Douglass did not pay Auld on time, who threatened Douglass in response. It was at this point that Douglass decided he had to escape slavery.

Frederick Douglass Escape

Douglass escaped in September 1838 to New York by disguising himself as a sailor. New York was a dangerous place to travel to as many slave catchers also travelled there in order to track down escaped enslaved people. Despite this, he was helped by abolitionist David Ruggles and was also able to marry Anna Murray in New York, a free Black woman he had met in Baltimore.

Anna Murray, Wikimedia Commons.

On Ruggles’ suggestion, the two moved to New Bedford in Massachusetts, where Douglass would be able to find work as a ship caulker. However, racial prejudice meant Black caulkers were not allowed to work with white caulkers and Douglass spent five years working as a common labourer.

In New Bedford, Douglass first discovered the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, run by William Lloyd Garrison. Inspired by this, in 1841 he attended a Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Convention in Nantucket. After giving an unexpected speech, Douglass was recruited as an agent for the group.

He travelled around the country promoting abolition as an agent not only for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society but also for the American Anti-Slavery Society. The latter promoted moral suasion - the belief which placed Douglass at odds with many Black abolitionists throughout his career.

Frederick Douglass Book

In 1845, Douglass published his first autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. Douglass tells the story of his life and reveals several epiphanies throughout the book.

Title page of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, New York Public Library.

In the book, Douglass talked about how enslavers were not better than enslaved people, as people believed in the nineteenth century. He emphasised that slaves were kept deliberately ignorant through laws banning literacy. He, therefore, began to see education as the key to ending slavery.

Douglass wrote about how he would rather have died than kept being a slave - hence, his escape. But slavery was not just a personal issue for Douglass. He would not rest until slavery was abolished for all African Americans.

Impact of the Book

The Narrative became very popular, particularly in Europe. However, Hugh Auld heard the news of its success and became determined to capture Douglass. To avoid this, Douglass left the country and lectured throughout the United Kingdom for two years. His English supporters arranged to purchase him from Hugh Auld so that when Douglass returned to the US in 1847, he was a free man.

Frederick Douglass Slavery

On his return to the US, Douglass published his own abolitionist newspaper called The North Star.

In 1851, he split with William Lloyd Garrison’s philosophy - that which had first motivated him to become involved in activism. Garrison’s philosophy was made up of the following points:

• Moral suasion was the key to abolition.

• The US Constitution was a pro-slavery document.

• Political participation should be discouraged as the system was corrupted by slavery.

Douglass came to believe that the Constitution was a valid document and that it could be used to achieve emancipation.

Frederick Douglass Speech

One of Douglass’ most famous speeches was his 1852 July Fourth speech in which he said:

Douglass highlighted how America's celebration of its founding - the fourth of July - was not a celebration for enslaved people.

Frederick Douglass and the American Civil War

The American Civil War broke out in 1861 when the Southern States broke off and declared themselves the Confederacy - a rival nation that proudly allowed slavery. Douglass became a consultant to President Abraham Lincoln. He helped to convince Lincoln that abolition should be a goal of the war and strongly advocated for the recruitment of Black soldiers to the Union army. Douglass himself became the recruiter for an all-Black regiment called the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.

A 1943 mural of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment at the attack of Fort Wagner in 1863. Library of Congress via Picryl.

The Emancipation Proclamation that came into effect on 1 January 1863 effectively freed all enslaved people and was followed by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 which officially abolished slavery after the triumph of the Union. Douglass turned his efforts to the cause of civil rights.

Even after the abolition of slavery, Douglass continued to fight for civil rights. Although Reconstruction (1865-1877) seemed promising, granting voting and legal rights to African Americans, it was soon followed by a white backlash. This white backlash resulted in voting restrictions and segregation in public spaces. This was known as Jim Crow. Douglass fought against this backlash.

Frederick Douglass towards the end of his life. Wikimedia Commons.

Rising leaders in the African American community included WEB Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. These two figures represented a divide on how African Americans should fight against Jim Crow. Du Bois argued that active resistance was necessary to change laws and attitudes. By contrast, Washington believed that accommodation was the answer. Accommodation argued that resisting racism would only alienate white people further. Both Du Bois and Washington styled themselves as the heir to Frederick Douglass' legacy.

In actual fact, neither had worked with Douglass much or were ever much acknowledged by Douglass. Who Douglass did admire greatly was a woman named Ida B. Wells - an African American journalist and activist who fought to raise awareness against lynching, the brutal murder of African Americans. It would be more accurate to call Wells Douglass' political heir, and towards the end of his life Douglass acted as a mentor to Wells.